Eterna Academy
by TrainerNaps
Summary: Nestled between Eterna City and the Eterna Forest is Eterna Academy, once the Old Chateau. Sponsored by the Sinnoh League, Eterna Academy encourages youths to be the absolute best that they can be. But will that be enough? Our motley crew of students will have to face vengeful spirits, projects gone wrong and evil organizations to graduate in one piece! OC submissions closed
1. Chapter 1: OC Form

**Hey everyone, it's TrainerNaps here with my fifth Pokemon story and my first story of this type, Pokemon: Eterna Academy. This will be a story consisting mostly of submitted OCs, both as Professors and students, and put into a marvelous plot by yours truly! So, please submit and enjoy! **

**The first official chapter might not be up super-soon, as this story isn't my primary focus seeing as I do Plasma Saga regularly and Explorers of Destiny every Friday. I will update whenever it's convenient, but I won't make you wait forever. So, the form for submitting is below, and I'll see you in class!**

* * *

_Dear Student,_

_It is my personal pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted into the prestigious Eterna Academy. Our goal is to take good Trainers and make them the best. To better prepare them for the world, and make sure the world is prepared for them and the greatness that they are sure to spread. Below is a required form for entry. Compliance with completing said form is mandatory. This form must be handed to the Superintendent of Schools, T. Naps, as soon as is convenient._

_I thank you, and look forward to seeing you in class._

_-Headmistress Diana Harken_

**Name: First and Last**

**Age: 14-19(Student) 21- (Professor)**

**Gender: Oak helped me write the form, okay?**

**Year: 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th**

**Hometown:**

**Goal: What do they want to be? Trainer? Coordinator? A normal job or profession?**

**Appearance: What they look like, what kinds of clothes do they wear when not in uniform (at varying times), etc.**

**Personality: You know how this song and dance goes. Also, their comparability with (and not limited to) friends, rivals(people they hate in general)romantics, etc. List how they react to certain things, every little quirk. Don't be afraid of being "too descriptive." Essentially what kind of person are they? The Slacker? The Overachiever? The Shy One? The Class Clown? The Teacher's Pet Self Proclaimed Rule Police? (These are just archetypes. Like I said, be descriptive).  
**

**Backstory: Remember: these are teenagers in school. Don't be afraid to make their story interesting or give them depth, but don't jump the gun. **

**Family: Immediate family, close relatives, people they consider family**

**Team: Six Pokemon. Obviously no Legendaries. Starters are allowed and I'm not gonna put restrictions on them, but just don't go overboard. Lucario is the school mascot. Just keep that in mind. For your Pokemon:**

**Nickname(optional)**

**Gender**

**Attacks: Four. Must be learnable**

**Personality**

**Student Classes: (Pick 8. Maximum of 1 study hall. Pick level, then identify Honors or AP). *Note* Level usually based on Year, but can translate to level of student**

**_Professor_****: Pick 1 catagory that they teach (Ex: Math, English, Science..."**

**Extra-curricular Activities: As many as you want**

_Classes:_

BATTLING

_History of Battling (I, II, III)_

_Strategy and Application (I, II, III, IV)_

_Battling tiers_

_Special Battles_

COORDINATING

_History of Coordinating (I, II, III, IV)_

_Coordinating (I, II, III) _

_Contest Categories (I, II)_

BREEDING

_Compatibility (I, II, III, IV)_

_Inherited Traits, EVs and IVs (I, II)_

_Hatching and Prenatal care (I, II)_

POKEMON BIOLOGY

_Habitat Studies (I, II)_

_Pokemon Anatomy (I, II, III, IV)_

_Behaviour Studies (I, II, III)_

_Evolution Studies (I, II, III)_

_Attack and Ability Studies (I, II, III)_

ART

_Drawing & Painting (I, II, III)_

_Art History (I, II)_

_Music Theory (I, II)_

_Drama (I, II)_

_Ceramics_

SOCIAL STUDIES

_World History (I, II, III)_

_Kanto History_

_Johto History_

_Hoenn History_

_Sinnoh History_

_Unova History_

Mythology (I, II, III, IV)

Philosophy

Sociology

Comparative politics

MATH

_Calculus (I, II)_

_Algebra (I, II, III)_

_Trigonometry_

_Geometry_

_Statistics_

SCIENCE

_Human Anatomy_

_Pathology_

_Physics (I, II, III)_

_Chemistry (I, II, III)_

_Botany_

_Astronomy (I, II, III)_

LANGUAGE

_Creative Writing & Rhetoric_

_World Literature_

_Poke Cry_

Extracurricular and clubs

**SPORTS**

_Soccer(or football, like it should really be called)_

_Baseball_

_Football(Our version. The dumb one that doesn't make sense)._

_Track & Field_

_Cross Country_

_Basketball_

_Golf_

**MUSIC**

_School Band_

_Choir_

**Clubs (Suggest if any are missing)**

**Chess Club**

**Book Club**

**Student Council (Identify Position)**

**For example: **

***Note for those of you who have read my other stories* This is an alternate version of my MC. Nothing in this story is cannon in the Plasma Saga**

**Name: William Grey**

**Age: Student, age 15**

**Gender: Male**

**Year: 1st**

**Hometown: Iccirus City**

**Goal: Pokemon Master, novelist**

**Appearance: Tall, about 6'1, and skinny. Electric blue eyes and brown hair, which is usually not too long but unkempt. When not wearing his school uniform he is usually wearing a T-Shirt and jeans, and most likely his Silph Co. light jacket (Will prefers colder temperatures).**

**Personality: Always trying to be funny and is no stranger to cracking jokes at any time, right or otherwise. He may seem like a sole jokester, but is very complex. Will is usually shy to most new people, but will open up to them as time goes by if they are kind to him. If they pick on him, even if sarcastically, he will harbor a deep vendetta against him (he holds grudges). Any matter people like that see as trivial and forget about, he will not. However, in most other situations he is very forgetful. He is 100% faithful to his friends and will always stick by them, but this sometimes gets conflicted when his "way" is not the one going with. Will is very logical and can reason things out, so he is not usually prone to overreacting. For example if someone else is made the leader of some sort of group and he reasons they were more fit than he, he will be a good sport about it. If he feels that he was better fit, he will not let it go. Will gets down on himself very easily, often falling into deep depressions. He is quite smart, and tends to use big words when he gets angry. At his core, Will is a great friend to know, though if you scratch at his exterior, it may feel rough.**

**Backstory: Will used to live in Viridian City in Kanto. His older sister Jaclyn was a Psychic-Type Trainer, which drove him to stack his team against Psychic-Types. When he was nine, his father died in a lab accident a Silph Co. His family then moved back to his mother's original hometown of Iccirus City so that his mother could further focus on her career as a botanist. It was also where his baby sister, Cassandra, was born the next year. His father's death made Will uncomfortable around labs, chemicals, and most things science, and drove Will to become a Trainer like his father before he had been a scientist. Will bears somewhat of a resentment towards his father for "leaving" his family.**

**Family:**

**Jaclyn Grey (sister): 19,Psychic-Type Trainer in Sinnoh. Works with Cynthia to pursue and study the Legendary Pokemon Cresselia. **

**Rosaline Grey (Mother): 46, Botanist in Iccirus City**

**Cassandra "Cassie" Grey(sister): 5, aspiring Coordinator. Named after her father, Cassius**

**Team:**

**Cell(Reuniclus)**

**Gender: Male**

**Attacks: Psychic, Shadow Ball, Rock Smash, Fire Punch**

**Personality: Loving and friendly, Cell was Will's first Pokemon. Over the years Cell has developed a psychic link with Will. The two can't exchange words, but Will and issue commands. Also as a result Cell directly feels emotions, hugging anyone that makes Will happy and (equally happily) attacks when he gets angry**

**Mickey(Liepard)**

**Gender: Female**

**Attacks: Hone Claws, Sucker Punch, Shadow Ball, Dig**

**Personality: Lazy and very fond of Will, however sarcastic and sassy.**

**Annabelle(Leavanny)**

**Gener: Female**

**Attacks: Energy Ball, String Shot, X-Scissor, Leaf Blade**

**Personality: Proud and lady like**

**Classes: I haven't decided on Will's classes yet. But that's the basic gist.**

* * *

**So, there's the form! I hope you submit and enjoy once the story starts coming out! So long and I'll see you in class (and yes, I'm going to be saying that a lot now!)**

**P.S. The class list was based off of that of Reblog Lady's in her Liberty Gardens Academy story, which I partially used as a template. Just wanted to cite my sources.**


	2. Chapter 2: First Bus

**Okay, so whenever I get a new idea it just eats away at my mind, so I had to ease it up by writing some for the story. Today's chapter will feature OCs fro-in order of appearance-me, Slendie258, Crazy Awesome Neko, gara316, Ins4ne Gam3r, Shadowspiri5, Himakaru, and Coli Chibi.**

**If you've sent in an OC and they have yet to appear, do not worry! I promise that they will!**

**So, sit back and enjoy the first official chapter!**

* * *

The ever tranquil atmosphere of the Eterna Forest was shattered by gaudy sputtering of a massive eighteen wheeler sluggishly crawling down the dirt road. The Pokémon residents sought nothing more than to avoid contact with the human made terror; Wurmple crawled into tree knots. Bunneary hopped back down into their burrows. A Leafeon slunk behind a large mossy rock.

But one Pokémon apparently did not get the message. The small hedgehog like Pocket Monster remained in the middle of the road sniffing at a peculiar violet flower.

By the time it realized what was approaching it was too late. She looked up just as the massive square shadow of the truck's front encased her. She squeaked and tried to run, but instead was sucked up by the truck's front exhaust pipe.

Unaware of its small rodent conquest, the truck continued on to its destination. Around a bend in the round was a large black steel gate. On the mossy brick walls next to it, two stone Lucario remained ever vigilant.

The truck stopped to await admittance. There was a loud metallic buzz, and the doors suddenly swing open. The truck proceeded on.

Down a long pebbled path canopied by massive pines and other trees was a great circular area with a large fountain in the center. Behind that, easily ten times the great fountain's height was the Old Chateau.

Excuse me, it had _once _been known as the Old Chateau. Now the great manor was known as Eterna Academy.

Several years after Team Galactic's defeat the Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia, had reached the conclusion that if Sinnoh had a great allure to Trainers, and had trained them better in the first place, Team Galactic wouldn't have been allowed to run wild and nearly destroy the universe as we knew it.

Among other attractions to open their gates in Sinnoh, Cynthia funded Eterna Academy, "Where Youths Become the Best That They Can Be, and Beyond!"

The building had been renovated, repaired, and added to until it was a whopping five times its original size. It now sported an array of classrooms, a fully functional pool and gymnasium, and among other things, state of the art battle fields.

Though the truck had reached its destination it could not stop yet. Following the instructions she had been provided by her client, the driver lead her machine down a side path to down the left side of the castle like building.

Eventually after passing nearly the entire length of the building, the driver reached a large garage tucked in a corner of a corner. Completely hidden by the building and the forest.

The driver got out and scratched her messy red hair. As she had lowered herself from the driver's seat she had witnessed a man coming out to meet her.

Theorizing her was coming for his cargo she immediately made her way past the trailer to the loading end. On her way she passed the giant company logo on her truck:

_Galactic Movers LLC_

_"We'll get you your stuff faster than light!"_

When she reached the back she and the man came face-to-face. The man had a perfect complexion, his white skin the polar opposite of his jet black hair.

The man winked. "Mars! How nice to see you," he said as he leaned up against the side of the truck."

"Hello, Lucas," she said meekly, pressing a button on the truck. The door began to slide open. "And it's just 'Maria' now."

"I understand," he chortled. Lucas nodded his head towards the truck. "How's the new business doing?"

"Good, good," she said meekly, looking down at her feet. Lucas's ambiguous comments brought up some bad (and embarrassing) memories. His comments were vague and harmless enough, but she knew he was doing it do bring up these memories on purpose."

"Try to destroy the universe lately?" Lucas asked with a grin while Maria tapped a few more keys on a blocky button pad inside the truck. She laughed weakly as two large forklift-like arms lifted a huge box covered in a white tarp.

She gulped and shook her head. "No…just working to dig the company out of debt…"

Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stack of Poké bills. He held it out to Maria who at first reached out her hand, but quickly retracted it.

"I-Is this some kind of joke?" asked the former criminal. "I-I mean, I'm sorry for all the insults and trying to kill you…"

Lucas shook his head and his hand containing the money. "No, no, this is a tip. An investment really."

A shadow fell over his face as he grinned and malevolently said, "You know, and investment for me not having to kick your butt again."

The two burst out laughing, Lucas genuinely and Maria nervously. While he was distracted Maria snatched the money just to make sure he didn't change his mind.

Both nearly choked stopping themselves as they heard the slow clack of heels behind them. Lucas straightened up while Maria busied herself getting the cargo out of the truck.

A trim, elegant shadow fell across Lucas, and the caster slowly made her way by him. She was as slim and graceful as the shadow, and ten times as imposing.

Headmistress Diana Harkin was tall. Very tall; 6'6 to be precise. She wore dark violet heels that made her even taller than her base height. She had on an older style of clothing: a plain murky violet skirt, with a dress jacket of the same shade except with wide stripes of a fainter color. Under that she wore a grey-purple blouse.

Around her slender neck was a thin, ornate gold chain. The charm held was hidden by her blouse.

Harkin's face completely and utterly betrayed her age, and her secrets remained an envied mystery to many. Her exact age was unknown, but for a woman whose "middle age" had passed, she looked very much like a 29 year old.

She had a small, sleek nose that ended in a point, serving almost as a gun barrel to guide the paralyzing shots of her gaze. Harkin's Staraptor-like grey eyes remained even more on guard than the gargoyles at the entrance, and a hundred times more intimidating.

While her face showed absolutely no signs of aging, save for the ever-hard expression she wore, her hair did. Whether or not this was on purpose, Harkin's brown hair, which was tied in a neat bun, showed almost artful streaks of grey towards the top.

Had she been wheezing, Lucas would've easily mistaken the approaching shadow for Darth Vader.

The striking head of the academy continued towards Maria, who began to panic considering the package had yet to even touch the ground.

Finally it did, kicking up a dramatic cloud of dust against Harkin. She looked down at the large box, and then back up at Maria. The truck driver jolted, and then tore the sheet off.

The glass box was covered in a fine layer of dust. A single finger slowly descended on its surface, probing the smooth exterior and leisurely drawing a straight line down its side.

Headmistress Harkin examined her finger and then examined the continents of the box through the viewport she had just created. She didn't crane her neck; her eyes simply locked on to their targets while she stood up straight, hands clasped behind her back.

Then she spoke, like a queen, no, a goddess giving her next ever-anticipated mandate to her willing subjects. "Admirable," came the slow, regal response. Though it was slow and contained signs of hard sarcasm and non-caring. For a woman who paid such a high price for this cargo, she seemed like she didn't give one single care.

Her hand slowly made its way to her jacket pocket from which she produced and ancient pocket watch. With a precise jab of her thumb she flicked it open, and then snapped it shut just as quickly and continued her sentence as if the entire conversation had hinged on its completion.

"-though behind schedule. The package has arrived precisely seventeen minutes and forty-three seconds behind the figure projected by your administration."

Maria gulped and nodded. "O-of course, ma'am," she stuttered as she quite visually shook. Harkin's eyes drifted to her for but a second before resuming their laser-staring contest with Maria's.

Maria was losing.

She gulped again. "I-I accept f-full responsibility, ma'am…i-if you wish to dock my pay-"

Harkin held up a hand. The delivery girl had been wise to take disappointing her boss instead of disappointing Harkin. But no matter. "I am an honest woman, Maria. You will receive the fixed payment agreed upon prior to the exchange. However-"

Her stare shifted to Lucas, who was suddenly jogged out of the state of relief he was holding on to that Maria was getting grilled instead of him. "Mr. Folium, I ask that you retract seventy-five percent of the tip she received. She may keep the other twenty-five: the package seems to have remained in most excellent condition."

Lucas nodded quickly as he let out an immense sigh of relief on the inside. He swiftly reached for Maria who willingly held out the money.

At the sight of her tip going away she would have whimpered, but Harkin's presence had made her throat bone dry.

_Well… _she thought, _looks like it's left over pizza again tonight…_

Both Lucas and Maria jerked when Harkin briskly spun on her heel and began to make her way back to the building. "Mr. Folium, arrange for the package to be brought to my private study."

"Yes, Headmistress!"

"As for you, Maria, arrive presently next time and the entire sum of your exploits shall not be syphoned," said Harkin coldly as she gave the driver a half glance. "Here at Eterna Academy, we do not tolerate careless mistakes."

With that she continued back on her commanding gait onwards to the academy. Unknown to any of them, all going about their business, a small hedgehog Pokémon popped out of the rear exhaust pipe.

She was covered in soot and engine grease. Squeaking, she shook herself off, only reducing her grim and ash coating by a small percentage.

Taking a deep breath, she began to strain herself and shake. The grass like hair follicles on her back began to sparkle and then glow green. The light enveloped her entire body and then faded with a _POP_!

When it did, she was completely spotless. Feeling invigorated, she toddled into the bushes.

…

A long Grey-Houndour bus pulled into the massive circular courtyard in front of Eterna Academy, an eighteen-wheeler pulling out behind them.

Said bus was packed with students of all shapes and sizes, from Kanto to Orre and everywhere in-between.

With a loud _K-SHHHH _the bus's doors folded open and the students began to make their way out. At the head of the steady stream of young bodies were two Trainers in hot debate, a boy and a girl.

The girl had shoulder length black hair and olive skin. Her brown eyes sparked with fire and brilliance. She tugged at the strings on her pink sweatshirt. "You're wrong, Will, you're one-hundred percent wrong. Sharpedopus would win _hands down!_"

She stopped and tapped her chin with a finger and thought. "Wait, or would it be tentacles down…?"

The boy chuckled as he zipped up his Silph Co. jacket. He was tall, about 6'1 and skinny. His short brown hair hung just short of reaching his eyebrows. He closed his electric blue eyes as he shook his head in disagreement.

"Mako, you're completely biased! You're just saying Sharpedopus would win because your uncle worked on the set of the seventh movie! Mecha Feralinator would kick his butt!"

Will stopped as well to think. "Do half-shark half-squids have butts?"

"I still disagree," said Mako with a giggle to her best friend, trying to end their ridiculous debate while at the same time trying to win it. She looked at her feet and laughed weakly, saying, "And…uh…you know how I told you my uncle worked on the set?"

"Yeah?" said the taller boy arching an eyebrow.

Mako chuckled and rubber her arm. "Well…he did, but…he kind cleaned up after all of the stunts…he was a janitor…"

Will flicked her in the head with a grin on his face. She shrieked and rubbed the spot, retaliating with two of her own. The childish bout continued as the made their way up the steps and into the academy. "C'mon, we should go!"

Back at the bus, another girl scoffed in disgust as she watched them go at it. She had mid-back length brunette hair, and was certainly not the center of attention on her person. Her name was Rosalee Render.

Rosalee wore a multitude of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings which all served to augment the areas of her body not covered by her silver mini dress and heels.

_Immature little brats…_Rosalee seethed to herself while making her way carefully down the bus's steps. _I'd better not have to room with that geek…_

"Whoa!" she shrieked suddenly. The brunette face planted into the pebbled ground. She growled as she picked herself up and looked down at her feet.

Stabbed onto one of Rosalee's heels was what appeared to be a small packet of seeds, the contents of which were pouring out onto the ground.

Down near her shins was a girl with wavy blond hair wearing a hippie-style headband. She was frantically gathering up similar packets of seeds, a majority of which were piled up near an overturned handmade purple wooden box.

"Sorry!" she said with a smile, revealing her green eyes and perfect teeth. "I spilled my seeds all over the ground! Entirely my fault!"

"Agreed," growled Rosalee, grinding her teeth. She brushed a few pebbles off of her expensive outfit and silently mocked the girl's own, which was loose fitting and appeared to be of exclusively organic materials.

The girl offered her hand. "My name is Rainbow. Rainbow Jenkins. But my friends call me RJ!"

"Flowers can talk?" jeered Rosalee laughing at her own joke. However she stopped and raised an eyebrow confusedly once Rainbow started to laugh along with her.

Rosalee's eye twitched at the deflected insult. It didn't faze her that much before: most people just gave her the satisfaction of taking the insult and it was almost amusing to watch some try and come back. But Rainbow didn't even know she was being insulted.

And to make matters worse for Rosalee, Rainbow extended an arm of friendship in the form of a packet of seeds. She smiled innocently as Rosalee stared down the packet like she was being handed a pile of dirt.

Just for the sake of moving on with the exchange she snatched it. Stuffing it in her pocket, she said, "J-just don't let it happen again! Or else I'll have my father sue you for everything you're worth…"

She snickered and added, "Never mind, I've already got plenty of dirt in my garden…"

Rainbow brightened up, her eyes sparkling as she shot up onto her knees. Rosalee backed up, startled. "You have a garden!? How big?"

"Bigger than your house, that's for sure…" grumbled the richer girl.

"What kind of flowers do you like to tend?" asked Rainbow as she got up onto her feet, rocking back and forth on her heels after seemingly connecting with a new face.

Rosalee flipped a strand of hair out of her face and turned, eager to get away from the hippie. "Gardening is for the help."

"I agree!" called Rainbow to Rosalee, "Thanks for your help, by the way! I appreciate it!"

While she continued on Rosalee growled, clenching her fists and hunching her shoulders. Rainbow waved for another second and then returned to picking up the seeds.

The scrunching of feet on the gravel grew closer to her once again, and this time they belonged to a boy. He was of average height and had medium length brown hair.

"She was treating you pretty nastily," he said softly, bending over to help her. Rainbow could now clearly see his blue eyes.

Rainbow shrugged. "I didn't really notice."

"Y-you didn't?" stuttered the boy as he blinked wildly. He had seen people pushed around all his life, and even the slightest tease upset most of them. And now she had just been thrashed and she didn't even care?

"Nope!" she squeaked and dumped a handful of seed packets into her box. "I'm a pacifist. I dislike conflict." The boy nodded and continued helping her. "Thanks for the help, by the way. What's your name?"

"Ben," he replied with a smile, "Ben Rider. And you?"

"Rainbow Jenkins, but you can call me RJ."

Ben smiled openly. "Okay." Rainbow finished placing the last packet and then sighed contently. She pulled on her backpack and stood, box in hand.

"Are you hungry, Ben? It was a long bus ride. I've got some nice cucumber sandwiches we can share."

"Sure," said Ben as her got to his feet, pulling on his own backpack. "I could go for something to eat."

Rainbow's invitation was innocent enough and he doubted that she was into him. RJ seemed just that: innocent. He just wanted to be his friend. And Ben had no problem with that.

Rainbow waved her arm towards a great expanse of green grassy fields to the right of the lot. "That field looks really nice." She giggled. "Besides, I like the feel of grass between my toes. C'mon!"

The twosome made their way to the field whilst more and more students found their ways off of the bus. None really paid them any mind: they all had their own separate agendas.

Except for one. Up on top of the bus, sitting cross legged with a notebook in her lap was a fifteen year-old girl named Gabby Eastham. She had waist length blond hair with several aquamarine stripes in it. She wore a cyan tight fitting shirt with cutoff sleeves and dark flare jeans.

Gabby scribbled a few more things into her notebook. She giggled and then leapt off the side of the bus with ease.

…

Christian Moss bit his lip as he read his housing assignment. _Room 113, Dorm Wing B…_

His mind gave up the faint hope that he remembered where that was. He didn't. He had spent an entire school year in this building. Last year he had been rooming with a senior named Dale Harris. The older boy had been quiet and bookish, just what Christian liked in a roommate (and a person period) but he knew he wouldn't get that lucky this year when Dale moved on.

The only bright thought on his mind had been knowing where his room would be this year and not having to navigate the vast corridors and winding halls of the academy. But no, he had been reassigned to another room.

He had yet to depart, and he was already hopelessly lost.

He jittered and spun around when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. Standing there was a girl of athletic build, with long brown hair dip-dyed blond at the end. She was about two inches shorter than Christian, putting her at about 5'6.

She had blue eyes and a warm smile. Her black tank top revealed a single musical note tattooed on her shoulder. After a quick scan of her body the thing that stood out to Christian most were her nails: all twenty, fingers and toes, were painted a different color.

"Are you new here?" she asked in a friendly tone of voice. Christian shook his head.

"No…I'm a sophomore," he responded with a dry crackle. He cleared his throat so that he wouldn't seem nervous.

The girl looked over at his notice. "Well, I'm a junior. This is my third year. Are you lost? Perhaps I could show you the way to wherever you're going."

"Sure," Christian sighed, handing her his papers. "My name is Christian Moss, by the way."

"Veronica Peyton," she responded sociably. Noting his dour expression she tilted her head and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No…" he responded with a sigh. He felt a little twinge inside of him as she began to pester him about his attitude. They all did, and it annoyed him to no end.

"In any case," said Veronica as she handed him is papers back, "I can show you the way, if you'd like. I mean, the girls' dorms are on the complete other end of the manor, but I was headed that way anyway."

She gestured down a long hallway and began to backpedal. "C'mon!"

Christian sighed, shouldering his guitar case and pulling his backpack back on. He followed.

…

Will and Mako walked slowly down the cryptic mahogany halls of the once Old Chateau. The portion of the building they were in was a newer one, but it still had the same mysterious and eerie atmosphere.

Swords and other medieval weaponry decorated the walls, as well as a suit of armor here and there. Dotting the parapets as well were paintings; a mixture of old portraits and obscure art.

Every once in a while there would be a small side table leaned up against the wall containing a vase of peculiar flowers or a candelabra.

Mako shivered and tugged on the cords of her sweatshirt once more. "You know what I think, Will?"

"What?" her friend asked back still scanning the walls, as if something would jump out at any moment and he didn't want to be caught unawares.

"I heard that this Harkin lady is really scary, but I think she might be off her rocker."

"How so?" asked Will, raising an eyebrow.

Mako put on a "well, duh!" expression and spread her arms out wide. "Look around you!" she said forcefully. To make her point she even stopped and flicked the tip of a lance sported by a suit of armor. "In my opinion, any lady who purposely designs her academy like Luigi's Mansion is insane in the membrane."

"We haven't even met her yet," said Will. He shuddered as they passed that classic portrait of the farmer standing with his wife and holding a picture. However all the colors were darker, and on their face the contrasted red made it appear to be…blood streaks…

He flipped back around and continued on eyes straight. "Yup. Totally weird."

Mako nudged him with her shoulder and hopped to his side. "C'mon, Slowpoke, pick up the pace! I have to cross the entire freaking castle to get to my dorm!"

"Then why are you with me!?" Will nearly yelled with laughter thrown into the mix. His friend's head titled back and she began to daydream.

"Cuz I wanted to see your roommate first!" she squealed affectionately. Mako cupped her hands and pressed them against her chin. "What if he's some kind of hot dreamboat?"

She punched Will in the shoulder. "What kind of friend would you be if you let me miss out on that?"

"I-I should go...don't really don't know how to respond to that," said Will as he sweatdropped. Just for reference he checked his rooming notice. _Room 121, Dorm Wing B…_

Looking up Will saw an ornate piece of bronze stuck to a door that read, "_118."_. Peering ahead he saw the number 119, meaning that the numbers were climbing and he was getting close.

"There!" Will said, speeding up for the brief few feet he had left to reach his dorm. "121." He reached for the doorknob and checked over his shoulder quickly for novelty's sake. Sure enough Mako was biting her lower lip with her fingers crossed.

Will rolled his eyes and opened the door. He heard Mako inhale expectantly…and then shriek.

Sitting on the bed to the left of the room was a Paras. Startled as well by the Mushroom Pokémon's unexpected appearance, Will whipped out a Pokéball.

"W-Will…" squeaked Mako, up against the Wall across the hallway, her tightly balled fists were clutched over her mouth. "I think you got screwed with the roommate assignment…"

"Oh…well, certainly quick to judge, aren't we?" came the seemingly phantom response. The Paras skittered to the edge of the bed and Will gripped his ball tighter.

He licked his dry lips. "Mako, I think the talking Paras is right. We haven't even met…can't tell if it's a boy or a girl…"

"Boy. And his name is Tochu." Since Will and Mako had been standing in the doorframe they had been blind to the entire right side of the room. Out into their line of sight came a boy, a few inches shorter than the 6'2 Will.

Under his yellow T-shirt he wore a blue long sleeve. Over his blond hair he wore a purple beanie, and his icy blues were a shade lighter than Will's.

The boy walked over to the bed and held his arm out. Tochu the Paras hopped onto his arms and skittered up to his shoulder. "My name is Tony. Tony Miller." He glanced from side to side at the room. "I guess you're my roommate?"

"Yup." Will extended his hand. "William Grey. And that's Mako Jace."

Slowly sliding off of the wall, Mako waved sheepishly. Tony waved backed in the same uncertain manner, and then slowly took Will's hand.

His gaze went from the hand to Will's eyes, and Tony asked, "You two aren't insectophobes, are you?"

"Nah, we were just a little startled," said Will. Tony smiled and motioned to the still invisible portion of the room.

"Good. Because I train exclusively Bug-Types." A Butterfree made her way passed Tony's right shoulder and to his left, hovering close behind it. Another Pokémon waddled in between his legs. The blue beetle Pokémon crossed his arms and glared.

"This is Lucky," said Tony gesturing to the Butterfree. "She's my first Pokémon. We go way back."

"Freeeh," said Lucky with a nod. _And don't you forget it, either._

Tony nudged the beetle Pokémon slightly with his foot. The Pokémon will recognized as a Karrablast glared at Tony for a brief moment and then turned back. "And this is Lancelot."

"Like the guy from Monty Python?" asked Mako, peering over Will's shoulder. Will, Tony, and Lancelot all gave her looks of "Really!?"

Mako shrugged. "What? I liked that movie."

"Karra," snorted Lancelot. _I do hope she doesn't rub off on Tony…_

"It's nice to meet you all," said Will with a smile. While some might've looked at talking eye-to-eye with Pokémon, Bug-Types of all things, pretentiously. But Will had no problem with it. Aside from Mako, he had gained very few human friends in his childhood. And so his Pokémon had filled those gaps.

There was a pause, and Tony moved from the entrance as if he had forgotten to in the first place. "P-please, come in."

Will and Mako did so, surveying the dorm. The room was of decent size, not nearly as small as dorms were advertised to be.

Against one wall was a bed, and a nightstand at its top corner. There was a space of about five feet between that and the mirror image on the right side. Behind the narrow space in between bed and wall was a small closet.

"So, you're a Bug Catcher, huh?" asked Will trying to make conversation. "Does that mean you have one of those big hats and a net?"

"Isn't that a little stereotypical?" asked Tony, furrowing his eyebrows. Will sweatdropped and bit his lip. Tony waited a moment before grinning and waving his hand. "In the closet."

Will laughed and flopped down on the bed closets to him, the left one. "You got me, I'll admit it." He sighed and surveyed the room once more. "So…how're we gonna decide who gets what bed?"

"I don't know," said Tony with a shrug. "Flip a coin?"

While the two boys talked, Mako thought. _Hm…Tony isn't what I kinda hoped for. I mean, he's kinda cute, but…nah, not what I was looking for. Nice guy though._

She tapped her foot. _Well, I guess it's back to the dorm for me. _Make rolled her eyes. _Ugh, I hope I don't get one of those, "OMG, we're gonna be SISTERS!" roommates…or one of those obnoxious ones…or they really sciency ones, the kind that brings their projects back with them and stays up all night working…all in all I'm probably gonna be let down._

Mako snapped her fingers. _I know! I'll exploit the masculine sense of self-superiority for my own entertainment! Genius!_

Mako ended the rather polite back and forth by clearing her throat. "You know, guys, I think the toughest Trainer should have their pick."

"Battle?" said Will sort of asking both at the same time.

"Well…" said Tony as he checked his watch. "We have to be at orientation by-"

"Three days from now," Mako interrupted dryly.

Tony sweatdropped and smiled embarrassedly. "R-right. Well, I don't see why not. How many Pokémon do you have?"

"Three," answered Will, unclasping them all from his belt and holding them in his hands. "That's just how many you have, isn't it?"

The blonde nodded and Will got up. "Great! Then you're on, Tony Miller!"

* * *

**Phew, that took a while to write.**

**Thanks for all the awesome OCs, guys! Though if I may ask, if you've already sent one or more in could you please hold off for a bit? I'm getting quite alot, but I would appreciate some more teachers and staff. Anyways, keep em coming! Thanks!**

**I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and I hope you're asking questions too. Like what was in Harkin's box? What was that hedgehog-like Pokemon up to? What was Gabby doing? And how is Will and Tony's battle going to go.**

**Next time we will find answers to a few of these questions, as well as meet some more OCs! I'll see you in class next time for Chapter 3 of Eterna Academy!**


	3. Chapter 3: Roses Are A Great Many Colors

**Today's chapter will include OCs from (doing my best to go in order) Coli Chibi, BlaeofTheEclipse, StattStatt, A Random Human, SuperStarKirby, and...I think that's it. If I missed anything or mess up with OC credit in any way, feel free to correct me.**

**Also, I've got some good news (at least I see it as good news) at the end of the chapter, so stick around.**

* * *

Headmistress Harkin stood as a gargoyle watching over an unsuspecting city from a belfry. Hands clasped behind her back she stood stoic and stern behind her large quad-paneled window in the rear of her office behind her massive mahogany desk.

"Modest" could possibly describe her workplace; that is if you were rightfully comparing it to a library. The large octagonal room had a colossal oak bookshelf covering each wall save for three, each shelf packed with encyclopedias and other thick texts. There was no empty wall to be found.

The three surfaces of the octagonal room not covered by bookshelves were the doors and the windows, which paralleled each other, and the large fireplace that sat in between the two bookshelves on the right wall. At the moment there was no fire.

Two ornate chairs sat facing the headmistress' desk. Each had a thin ovular cushion on the seat that served almost as a small appetizer for what they would be served from all sides and through all seasons: uncomforting.

This room could in all senses be considered Harkin's lair. Not that she didn't outside of their doors, but in this room she wielded absolute power. The only difference than outside logically being that in here, she had the person or people all to herself.

In a way her office was much like space: large, cold, and where no one can hear you scream.

Harkin looked down on the wide, grassy field below. On it congregated a majority portion of the student body that had since arrived; those not wanting to venture inside to their dorms just yet, or already having done so and simply wishing to venture outdoors.

There seemed to be a particular commotion on and around the second of the three battlefields on the grounds. A battle seemed to be attracting spectators.

_Good, _she thought almost pessimistically, _let them gawk at each other's bouts. Let them learn who to fear, who to aspire to, and who to trample. To truly become great, the weak must be brushed away to make way for the strong._

Harkin turned briskly and sat down at her desk. _A lesson I plan to add to the curriculum._

The second her body made contact with the chair and she had turned it slightly so that she was poised to work at the desk, there was a slight rapping of knuckles on her large wooden doors.

"Enter," she spoke without looking up from the papers she was arranging in a stack. Alan, her scrawny secretary poked his head in. The twig of a man reminded her of Ichabod Crane from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow: skinny frame, knobby elbows and knees, and a tiny pair of glasses that clung to his massive nose. As much as a whelp as Magikarp is red.

"Professor Hickory has arrived, madam," he squawked. Harkin simply continued to file her papers.

"Show her in, Alan."

"Yes, madam."

At her core Harkin was a woman who appreciated progress over all, to which Alan delivered, but something about the man simply unnerved her. Her receiving of progress over all allowed him to keep doubt away from his usefulness, but the fact protruding through the door like Alan's nose simply had to be his weakness made his presence simply irked her.

Though the fact that at times he simply loomed around, so silent and invisible that he could go without being noticed, it didn't strike her as utilitarian, but simple…unnerving.

She made a mental note to fire him in the even that she had nothing else to do and a new secretary was readily and efficiently available. As stated before, Harkin valued efficiency and progress over all.

Which is why Professor Hickory had been called into her office. There were a few seconds in between Alan's disappearance and the arrival of a pale skinned woman into Harkin's office.

Professor Agatha Hickory was a woman of short stature, at least compared to the towering 6'6 height of Harkin, not counting the boost given to her by the high heels she always wore. But to be fair, everyone was small in the presence of Diana Harkin, regardless of height or otherwise.

Hickory wore a plan blouse and skirt, something that Harkin actually did appreciate. While some might say that Harkin's apparel was fashionable for her position, the headmistress loathed the concept of dressing to appeal.

Hickory simply wore apparel appropriate for her position with no added style or flare. Harkin saw this as dressing "efficiently": just by looking at the approaching woman she deducted that her newest addition to the staff had not wasted any time deciding on what to wear and instead spent that time doing something more important.

This won her some points in Harkin's book. But not nearly enough to win her this meeting.

And yes, this meeting was very much like the battle about to take place outside: two forces competing for what they wanted. But unlike the Trainers about to battle outside, there could only be one winner.

Headmistress Harkin effectively played both sides of this game: both cases were a win scenario. She could not possibly lose. Professor Hickory was the only possible non-benefactor.

The green-eyed woman looked curiously at the large glass box situated in the center of the room, covered in a tarp. She focused back on one of the guest chairs and prepared to move around the box when Harkin spoke up.

"That will do, Professor Hickory," said Harkin in little more than a sigh. The headmistress flattened her palms against each other and rested them on the desk, tapping her fingertips together.

"Professor, do you know why you have been called here today?" asked Harkin. This simple question was very much a test that would determine whether or not Hickory spent more than a few more seconds in the office. And to the degree that Harkin would "win."

Hickory shook her head slightly. "No, ma'am," she answered in an articulate tone which sounded almost forced. From her file Harkin could tell that she constantly strove to bite back her southern drawl. "I assume it was to assess my competence in my chosen venue before I can make an impression on my students." "Very much so, Professor Hickory," chided Harkin, sliding a paper in front of herself. "Though I am quite puzzled why you 'assumed' anything. You of all people should be quite adverted to making decisions, and making them the right way: based on logic and probability."

Agatha knew this was a clear cut reference to her invention, the Hickory Pokédex. A revolutionary device that increased the usefulness and effectiveness of a normal Pokédex one hundredfold. With a Hickory Dex in hand, a Trainer could potentially become invincible.

Of course, if it worked as intended at all times. Agatha was still trying her hardest to iron out some pesky bugs and to get over the humiliation she had suffered during the maiden voyage of her creation back in college, where it had failed miserably.

But to her knowledge Harkin saw potential in this device. The stoic headmistress wanted it to succeed; wanted _her _to succeed.

Agatha cleared her throat and prepared a better answer. "I was called here to be assessed on my worth considering my position as a professor and as the steward of the Hickory Dex."

Harkin nodded. "Correct. I have great faith that you will be a valued member of my staff for years to come, Professor Hickory. I was just wondering why I should not entrust the position that I envision you filling to another professor."

The headmistress slid a few more papers into the space directly in front of her and swiftly put on her reading glasses.

"I'll have you know that Professor van Rossum boasts and IQ rivaling that of the average Alakazam. She graduated at the age of fourteen with a Ph.D. in mathematics." Harkin placed her fingertips atop a sheet of paper and slid it to the edge of the desk.

Agatha looked down at the paper and prepared to move, but then recalled her entry. She looked up at Harkin for a moment for approval. The woman nodded and she proceeded forth.

"On this form you will find a variety of complex scenarios," said Harkin as Agatha picked up the paper and examined it. "For some you will be required to produce the logical conclusion. For others you must yield what you find to be the most logical, efficient, and effective solution on your own. After that, you will test your Hickory Dex with such scenarios. You will be scored, in a sense, on the proximity to your solutions that the machine yields, and of course what _I _have concluded."

Agatha nodded to her employer. "I won't let you down, ma'am."

"I don't expect you will," said Harkin as the ghost of a predatory smile crept onto her face. "And dare to think, professor-"she gestured to the box in the center of the room. "If I am pleased with the results, which I expect to be, perhaps one day _that _will be under your microscopes."

…

Ben munched on his cucumber sandwich, a sensation of enjoyment filling him. Not through his taste buds though: through his eyes. In the flirt's opinion Rainbow looked stunning in this weather. The sun shone off of her hair as if the follicles themselves were absorbing Sol's yellow rays.

His Pokémon were arrayed around his and Rainbow's picnic blanket as they all ate. They had been treated to lunch by Rainbow with a helping of her own special organic Pokémon food, a mixture the Infernape, Absol, and Salamance took no exception to.

Though their minds were mostly on their Trainer, and the inevitable move he was about to make on Rainbow.

Ben swallowed a mouthful of sandwich. "So, Rainbow," he said in that "I'm about to make a horrid pickup line" tone of voice all guys had deep down, "Could I borrow your phone?"

"What for?" asked the blonde, looking up from her sandwich. It was a part of her nature to let him borrow it anyway, but she just wanted to humor him.

And humor there was. "I was gonna call Heaven. On the way here I saw a few notices on telephone poles that an angel has gone missing." He moved a hand forward and curled it around her chin. "And I think I've found her."

Rainbow giggled as the line soared as far over her head as the proposed angels probably would have. "Good one!" she squeaked, genuinely amused and not trying to shoot him down. "I heard a good one a few days ago."

She put down her sandwich and tapped her chin, her eyes drifting up to the right as she tried to recall the joke. "How did it go…oh yeah! So a janitor, a secret agent, and a Pokémon Trainer all walk into a bar, and-"

Ben sighed as she continued the joke and finished his sandwich. _Well, I guess this one's off limits. After all, you can't get something that's surrounded by an impenetrable force field of innocence._

Just to be neighborly though he politely finished lunch with her, and he inferred that due to her not picking up his trying to pick _her _up, he had just gained a friend. And that didn't trouble him that much.

Rainbow stretched and stood up, working out the kinks in her muscles from sitting down for so long. She smiled and pointed up-field. "I think a battle is going on over there! Wanna check it out?"

"Sure, why not?" said Ben with a shrug. He got up and stretched as well while Rainbow recalled her Pokémon, a Roselia, a Cherim, and a Ralts. The two then abandoned their gear and made their way to the bleachers to the side of the battlefield, to come and retrieve the luggage later.

Meanwhile, under the shade of a tree not ten yards away from where they were, Gabby giggled and scribbled down a few more notes in her pad. That certainly wrapped up an article.

Her mind struggled not for a second on what to do next: her ADHD simply spun the great wheel of chance and decided-

"Apples!" shouted Gabby, scampering to her feet and scaling the trunk of the tree she had been leaning up against.

…

On the way to the field Mako had played up the battle to "The Fight of the Century" from what it had originally been, "Two Guys Battling to See Who Got First Dibs on A Bed."

No posters had been made, but the former would've worked better anyway if they had.

On the bleachers to the side of the field had gathered a modest following. Some were just bored, some just wanted to see a battle, but one wanted to assess these two Trainers while he had the chance.

Emil Caster sat towards the middle of the bleachers, his heels resting on the row below him. One of his well-muscled arms rested its elbow against a knee, and his chin atop of its fist. He seemed to scowl at the battle, his near omnipresent bad attitude shining through.

His unkempt blond hair waved in front of his emerald eyes in a gentle breeze, but his was not bothered. He was too busy assessing the battle which had yet to begin.

In that case you might see that as impossible, but Emil was currently assessing the Trainers. The two were casually walking to the field with pleasant expressions on their faces and striking up friendly conversation on the way.

Emil scoffed. _Absolutely no ambition…they could care less if they win…disgraceful…_

Up in the far right corner of the bleachers, earphones plugged in and staring out into space, bored out of his wits was Soren Hellsén. The aspiring breeder was of average height and skinny, with shoulder length red hair tied up in a ponytail. His mismatched red and grey eyes showed just the amount that he cared what we going on around him: not at all. He simply sat there because the seat had been empty and until people had started filing in, quiet.

"Mind if I sit here?" asked a girl standing next to him in a gruff tone. She wore a pair of black sunglasses which blended in with her jet black hair, tied in two scruffy pigtails. Under her arm was her green hoodie, which she had taken off due to the heat and revealed her black vest top.

Soren rolled his eyes and moved his own hoodie aside, which he too had removed for comfort's sake, showing his red T-Shirt.

The girl scoffed and plopped down, arms crossed. "Listen, buddy, there's nowhere else to sit! I didn't ask to sit here, and-"

"Yes you did?" he grumbled, not even bothering to look over at her. She gritted her teeth and leaned over to try to get a look at his eyes.

"Excuse me!" She seethed for a moment at the uncaring figure, before grunting angrily and sitting back in her seat, arms once again crossed.

Now making her way to the bleachers, having decided to get some sun before heading to her dorm, was Rosalee Render. The heiress stopped dead, eyes bulging when she saw Rainbow skipping merrily towards the bleachers, a humored looking boy tagging along behind her.

Rosalee puffed a strand of hair out of her face. "Forget that noise. I'd rather spend a day in the dump than have to sit in close proximity to Flower Girl." Which was a lot considering she had peniphobia.

With that she turned and headed back inside, the battle having no more allure to her.

On her way back she brushed past a boy a few inches shorter than he. He had scraggy brown hair and bright brown eyes. He wore a light blue and black jacket with grey khakis. He had been admiring a Blastoise a breeder had been showing to her friend, and not paying attention to where he was going.

"Watch it!" she spat at him and then turned away vindictively. The boy, Nathan Grayman stumbled and waved back with a weak grin.

"S-sorry! Entirely my-" he stopped once he realized she wasn't paying attention any more, and his arm drooped. "-fault…"

He made his way to the bleachers and scanned them for an open seat. There were a few open spots, and just as he was about to make his was to one, something on the other end caught his eye.

A girl with curly brown hair and freckled cheeks stood on the other end of the bleachers, and she seemed to be moving back and forth.

Nathan walked over studiously to see what was the matter. He found something was, but not what he had been expecting.

The girl's wheelchair had gotten stuck in a small divot in the ground and she was trying to get it out. She had a white cast wrapped around her left leg, her toes poking out the end. It was covered in marker signatures of all manners of color. She had a petite frame, and her skinny arms pushed and pulled on the wheel determinedly.

Nathan quickly skirted behind her and put his hands on the twin handles at the back. "Here, let me give you a hand," he said nervously. He always got this way around new people, especially girls.

She stopped struggling and looked back at him. "Thanks! I kind need it right now."

"N-no problem," said Nathan, forcing a smile. He wheeled her around to the front corner of the bleachers.

"That's good," she said, and put the brakes on the wheelchair. She looked back up and offered a hand. "My name is Hunter Fel. And you?"

"Nathan Grayman." He tentatively shook her hand. He couldn't help but stare at the cast on her leg. "So, erm…uh…" He nervously scratched the back of his head and abandoned the question. Hunter giggled.

"No, it's fine; you can ask," she said, moving her toes up and down to bring attention to the cast. "I messed up my leg after I fell down the stairs. See, I have a mild form of monosclerosis, so at the moment I'm kind of weaker than normal. I mean, the condition goes away eventually, but at the moment I can't really hold up my weight on just one leg."

She patted the wheels on the chair. "So, I'm stuck in this thing." Hunter looked at the empty piece of bench on the bottom row of the bleachers next to her. "Mind keeping me company? I think the battle's about to start."

"S-sure," stuttered a nervous Nathan, sitting down on the edge. Her invitations had been sincere enough: he could estimate that being sub-mobile like this could leave her lacking in company sometimes.

True enough, Tony and Will had taken to their respective ends of the field. Mako, the self-proclaimed announcer, moved to the Pokéball shape in the center.

"Guys, girls, and gentlemon!" she shouted, raising her arms up excitedly, and then preparing to grab a mic being suspended from the ceiling. "Llllllet's get ready to-"

"I'm pretty sure that's copyrighted!" Will shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth. That elicited a few snickers from the bleachers.

Mako narrowed her eyes and pretended to send the mike back up. "Alright, wise guy, we'll do it your way." She put back on her happy face and addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gents, might I present to you your two competitors for this afternoon, two knuckleheads!" She cleared her throat. "Excuse me, one knucklehead and his opponent, Tony Miller!"

…

"Alright, boys, call it!" said Mako, placing the coin on top of her thumb. She flicked it up into the air to initiate the coin toss.

"Tails!" cried Will, fists clenched and staring down the coin. His heart skipped a beat when Mako caught it, and then flipped it over onto her wrist.

She waved an arm towards Tony's side of the field. "Heads. Tony Miller gets the first move!"

Will nodded. "I'm ready if you are, Tony."

The blonde grinned and plucked a Pokéball from his belt. "I'd hope so. It would stink if I caught you off guard and the battle ended early."

Rolling her eyes, Mako ended the male hormone level test. "Alright, both Trainers are ready. The battle shall commence!"

"Lucky, I choose you!" cried Tony as he threw his Pokéball and unleashed his Butterfree. Lucky beat her wings excitedly, ready for the first battle of the school year.

Will remembered what Tony had said about Lucky back in their dorm. _Using your best first, eh? _Will picked his Pokéball. _So will I. _"Cell, you're up!"

"Reunaca!" shouted the amorphous green Pokémon as it hovered above the battlefield. Encased in a shield of green liquid was Cell, Will's Reuniclus.

Psychically sealed around it, the water formed a shape somewhat resembling a classic bedshseet ghost, except with long bulky arms linked together with rocks and such, and two long ear shapes at the top, formed around two cylindrical rocks.

Inside was Cell's true body, a frail little form with equally stubby arms, legs and torso, and a massive cranium that allowed the vast psychic power it commanded. On its face was a wide grin.

Tony stepped back. "W-what is that!?" Tony loved all Pokémon, sometimes even preferring their company over more abrasive humans, but this thing had simply caught him off guard.

"Freeeeh!?" _Holy Miltank! _Lucky was equally appalled.

"Relax, relax," said Will, waving his hands down. "He won't eat you or anything." The taller boy then studied his friend and scratched the back of his head. "A-actually I'm not even sure he eats period…"

The innocent, almost cute looking form contained inside the intimidating shell of liquid was a very strange couplet indeed for Cell. "Reuna!" he cried excitedly, beating his psychic fists together. _Who's ready to play?_

"Humph," grunted Emile folding his arms, "I can already tell he's going to lose…"

"Ugh, how can you say that already?" spat the irritated girl with the pigtails behind him. "You're such a jerk, Emil. The battle hasn't even started yet and I'm betting he used Reuniclus for a reason."

"Open your eyes, Amira," he said angrily back to the girl. "He's at a distinct Type disadvantage."

"Which doesn't mean anything," grumbled Amira.

Emil shrugged and turned back around. "You know, on second thought, he could pull this off." He gestured sarcastically at Lucky. "After all, what kind of fool expects to win with Bug-Types?"

Tony's spider senses(pun intended) for Bug-Type insults tingled. He gritted his teeth and balled his fists. At heart Tony wasn't a violent child, one who chose not to provoke anything. He resolved to show this punk what his Pokémon were made of here and now.

"Lucky, Confusion!" commanded Tony, and his Butterfree went into action. She rose into the air and splayed her hands at Cell, and waves of psychic energy rippled through the air.

Cell raised his bulky liquid arms to block. His form rippled at contact and his was moved back a little, but when he lowered his arms he still wore the same enormous smile.

Tony bit his lip. _That attack did nothing…well, at least I know how resistant it is to Psychic-Type attacks, so I won't make that mistake again…_

"Now, let's show em what a real Psychic-Type attack looks like!" said Will to Cell, who nodded in agreement. "Psychic!"

"Una!" Cell's eyes glowed blue and his form attained a glowing white outline. He raised an arm towards lucky and clenched the three fingers shut.

Lucky looked like an actual giant fist was gripping her: her wings crumpled and her body bent. Cell raised his arm, and Lucky rose as well.

Tony bit his lip. He knew what came next. Cell waved his arm down and Lucky shot towards the ground like a meteor, the transition from air to field almost instant.

The cloud of dust kicked up by the impact was blown away by the vigorous beating of Lucky's wings, ready to get back into the fight. Tony smiled proudly.

"That's the spirit, girl! Now use Sleep Powder!"

The Butterfree's wings beat even harder than before, and a sparkling green mist of spores began to drift began to drift towards Cell.

For Will, the steady breeze couldn't have come at a worse time, accelerating the cloud's path to Cell. Tiny ripples appeared all over Cell's body as spores made contact, as if tiny pebbles were being thrown into a lake.

Cell had a few seconds before he fell asleep: his body being encased in liquid, the spores had to actually make contact with his body within to put him to sleep, and more than a few would be required due to dampening. He had to act fast.

"Cell, Shadow Ball!" An orb of crackling black energy appeared in Cell's palm and he pushed it at Lucky just as his eyelids became heavy and he began to sway.

"Lucky, Bug Buzz!" said Tony. Lucky's antennae beat together at sonic speeds causing a rippling sound wave to rip through the Shadow Ball, rendering it useless. It flickered and dissipated into nothingness.

"Well played, Miller," Will said, impressed at his opponents resourcefulness. His gaze drifted down to Cell just as he hit the ground, asleep. "Very well played."

Tony nodded and prepared to go in for the kill. "I hope that you'll be able to expect no less for the duration of the battle. Dream Eater!"

An ominous glow emanated from Lucky's paneled eyes, and Cell began to twitch. Will was astonished that the Bug-Type knew the move, but his Trainer instincts pushed aside surprise and even a little fear in place for the obligation to his Pokémon.

"Cell, wake up, buddy! I believe in you!" Inside his colossal brain, Cell fought a battle that most beings were incapable of. His heightened state of mind allowed him to fight the drowsiness, which he was slowly succeeding in. And unknown to Tony, the Dream Eater was actually helping: reminding him he was awake.

"Reuna…" moaned Cell and he picked himself up off of the ground, and then gained enough strength to resume floating. Lucky gasped and faltered as the Dream Eater was abruptly cut off.

"Very impressive," admitted Tony, "I've never seen a Pokémon strong enough to fight off sleep like that. No doubt you and Cell have trained extensively."

Will and Cell both gave a thumbs up. "No doubt. Now, let's end it. Fire Punch!"

Cell's fist burst into a brilliant blue flame and he shot forward. Lucky flapped her wings and shot skyward to avoid the flaming fist.

But forgot about the other arm. The long psychic appendage whipped up from Cell's side and grabbed Lucky, slamming her down on the ground. Cell raised his Fire Punch hand and drove it home.

Once the dust cleared Mako checked Lucky's condition. She then waved her arms towards Will's side of the field. "Lucky is unable to battle! The victory goes to Cell."

There was a little applause from the stands, to which Cell responded with his signature smile and the waving of his hands.

Red light enveloped Lucky as Tony returned her. "Good job, friend," he whispered to the ball before placing it on his belt and taking out another. "Lancelot, your turn!"

"Kara!" The Karrablast hopped onto the field, eager to battle. He crossed his arms and humped. _You expect me to lose to that freakish fiend? As if._

As was his custom, Cell greeted his opponent by slamming a fist into his other palm, sending forth a rather nasty _WHOMP. _Still, Lancelot was not daunted.

"Begin!" cried Mako. Will leapt into action.

"Cell, use Shadow Ball!" Cell launched the sphere of dark energy at Lancelot, who didn't even blink.

"Protect!" ordered Tony. The blue beetle raised its arms and a blue energy barrier appeared around it. The Shadow Ball exploded harmlessly and the shield faded. "Now, X-Scissor!"

Lancelot's horn glowed orange and extended in length as he shot forward.

"Fire Punch!" ordered Will. Without moving Cell swatted at Lancelot with his attack, but the crafty little bugger leapt over it and sliced at Cell with the super-effective attack.

After suffering much damage from Dream Eater, that had been just enough to down the Reuniclus. "Cell is unable to battle! The victory goes to Lancelot!"

"You know, Cell really gave us a run for our money!" Tony said to Will as he recalled his Reuniclus. "He was really strong."

"Thanks," Will replied back and sent out his next Pokémon. "We'll see how you're feeling when she's done with you."

Tony blinked. "W-wait, did you say 'she'?"

The light from Will's Pokéball faded and revealed a sleek looking Liepard. She purred and licked her paw as she awaited Will's orders.

Lancelot turned around and padded back to Tony, his back to Mickey. Will was puzzled by this. He didn't want to hit an opponent when he wasn't looking.

"Uh…what's his problem?"

Tony sweatdropped and scratched the back of his head. "Lancelot kinda doesn't hit girls…is there any chance you have another male Pokémon?"

Will shook his head and examined the three Pokéballs attached to his belt. "No, Cell was my only one…"

Tony looked down and kicked at the dirt. "Well…wanna just call this round a draw?"

"Sounds good to me." Both sides withdrew their Pokémon, much to the dismay of one Emil Caster.

Both competitors prepared their third and final Pokéballs, and let them loose.

"Annabelle, go!"

"Tochu, go!"

The Leavanny and Para took the field, and Tony's expression immediately brightened. "Wow! That Leavanny looks _awesome! _I've never actually seen one in person but I hear they're so graceful and elegant!"

Annabelle looked back at Will and sweatdropped. Will simply grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "He's…enthusiastic about Bug-Types…"

"Begin!" Mako yelled, interrupting Tony's fanboyish speal.

"Annabelle, Energy Ball!" yelled Will.

"Leavaaaaaah ni!" cried Annabelle as she raised her head up, a ball of green energy forming before it. Her neck jerked back down and the ball launched.

"Tochu, dodge!" said Tony with a swipe of his hand. The nimble insect leaped easily out of the way, the Energy Ball exploding behind it. "Now, use Dig!"

Tochu dove into the ground, kicking up a few flecks of dirt before disappearing and leaving little more than a small hole in the ground.

_Annabelle's Grass Sub-Type puts her at a bit of a disadvantage, _thought Will as Annabelle's head swiveled frantically around the field for signs of Tochu. _Then again, so was Cell. And he won…_

There was a crackling noise behind Annabelle, and the ground bulged. Out shot Tochu, which Tony had expected.

"X-Scissor!" Tochu's claws glowed in the same fashion as Lancelot's horn had, and he slashed at Annabelle's back in the X pattern that gave the move its name.

Annabelle stumbled and turned to face her opponent. _Have to avoid those claws…_thought Will. "Annabelle, String Shot!"

A thicket of wet silk was sprayed out of the Leavanny's mouth, binding Tochu's claws together. "Now, jump up and use Energy Ball!"

Another green ball was launched at the Paras, struggling to undo its bonds. The aerial distance Will had chosen to put between Annabelle and Tochu was simply cautionary.

At the last second Tochu managed to slice his bonds open, and cut the approaching Energy Ball in half. The two halves exploded into the ground beside him.

Tony smiled. No need to get cocky, but victory looked to be at hand. "X-Scissor, one more time!" he yelled and pumped his fist into the air.

Using his surprisingly powerful legs Tochu launched himself into the air, claws raised and glowing.

Will realized the game Tony was playing: he was trying to get a little extra damage onto Annabelle by slamming her into the ground. "Annabelle, negate that attack with Leaf Blade!"

Both of the Leavanny's curved leaf hands straightened and extended in length, glowing green.

The four blades met in an explosion of light and a loud _KSSSSSH! _Both Pokémon stared each other in the eyes as the fell to the ground, locked in guard stance.

The force of the clash had knocked out a little of the momentum, but Annabelle's back was the one that would meet the ground first.

Still locked by their blades, the two Pokémon landed onto the ground most unceremoniously. Both were momentarily stunned, the tension of their blades eased, but Annabelle recovered first. Using her long legs she kicked Tochu off and sprang up.

"Annabelle, Energy Ball!" Will called, excitement building throughout his body. This battle could end at any second, with either side as the victor. It was that close.

The entire audience was hanging on their seats. Even Emil leaned forward a bit.

Annabelle launched her Energy Ball, spinning and upside down from her flip. She landed effortlessly on her legs. Will had to admit that was one of the coolest things he had ever seen.

Tony broke out in a cold sweat as the tension hit him. Quickly he ushered out a command. "Tochu, use-"

The Energy Ball exploded and muffled out sound, and for a moment, Tony and Tochu. And then the dust cloud faded.

Tochu was gone. In his place was a small hole.

"WHA!?"

"LEAVAH!?" Annabelle and her Trainer were in equal amount of shock and confusion. And when what happened finally hit them, it literally hit them.

Tochu exploded from the ground right at Annabelle's feet, knocking her off balance and upper-cutting her in the chin. The Leavanny stumbled back, and flopped on the ground.

Mako examined her, and then made the call. "Annabelle is unable to battle! The victory goes to Tochu, and the battle to Tony!"

There was a rousing cheer from the bleachers as the close battle came to a most epic conclusion. Content with the battle and not fazed by his loss, Will returned Annabelle and walked over to Tony, who had just finished congratulating Tochu and had returned him.

"Good job, man." Will held out his hand. "You earned that win."

Tony smiled and shook it. Most people who were beaten by his Bug-Types weren't always good sports about it. "Thanks."

Students were slowly trickling out from the bleachers to talk to the combatants and comment on the battle.

"That was awesome!"

"Dude, remember that move where the Reuniclus grabbed the Butterfree, and then slammed it on the ground and Fire Punch-ed it right in the face!?"

"I had no idea Bug-Types could be so strong!"

"That battle was pathetic," came the response that broke up all of the excited banter. Everyone stopped talking, their heads swiveling to Emil, who stood up in the bleachers, eyebrows furrowed.

"The victory was close. Too close. You shouldn't consider that skill," he spat at Tony, who looked depressed at his feet. "If the Leavanny had wizened up, your Para would have never delivered the finishing strike."

"Hey, buddy, it was just a friendly battle!" Will called back a bit angrily. "Tony earned that victory, and we both battled hard."

He scoffed. "Not hard enough, obviously. The two of you have absolutely no ambition, which makes you weak. If you fly through life with no drive other than to just have fun, you'll get nowhere." Still scowling, he walked down the rows of bleachers. "Unless at your core you _need _to be the best and are willing to do anything to be it, you're nothing."

"Prove it!" squeaked a challenge from the corner of the bleachers. Hunter wheeled herself forward so that everyone could see her, and folded her arms. "Prove ambition makes you stronger, and the will to win and have a good time with your Pokémon doesn't!"

Emil seemed appalled that this little girl in a wheelchair could-or would- stand up to his force and strategy.

His nose scrunched up and he looked enraged, gripping a Pokéball. He whipped around and jabbed a finger at Will, who jumped back in surprise.

"Fine, I'll show you. Battle me. Now."

"M-my Pokémon are weak from my battle with Tony," stuttered out the still surprised Will. Emil rolled his eyes.

"Your Liepard isn't."

"He's right." Everyone turned back to Hunter, who was tossing Pokéball up and down in her hand. "Will is, I mean. Your beef is with me, not him. _I _want that point proven to me."

She caught the Pokéball one final time and jabbed it at Emil. "I challenge you to a battle."

* * *

**And so Tony wins his battle with Will, which means he gets to pick the bed, which doesn't really matter at all! Well, at least the two found a productive way to spend half an hour.**

**Another challenge has already been issued, and it will be between Hunter and Emil! Who will come out on top? Is Emil's philosophy of ruthless ambition enough to pull him through? Find out next time!**

**Originally, this chapter contained a scene where Rosalee went to her room and met her roommates, introducing two more OCs, bu that part was omitted due to length. But I promise that it will be at the beginning of the next chapter!**

**Which brings up something else I waned to mention. The classes I had you pick for you OCs are more or less for reference: as most of my stories go characters and narrative take priority, and so there won't be a lot of "just in class" chapters, but instead when it can do something character related or keep the narrative going. I hope that's okay with you guys. But there will be plenty of learnin'.**

**And that brings me to my good news. I have decided that if this goes well, and it's at least semi-well received, I will continue with a sequel. I've already got a baseline plot for the story partially ironed out, and possibly beyond, but it depends if people still like this story by the time it gets to that point. I mean, I don't anticipate my writing driving people away...at least I hope not, but we'll see. How it stands now it seems very likely I'll continue on with the story for a sequel, pausing of course to ask permission for the renewal of OC use, and possibly some new ones.**

**Additionally I've a little bit of time off from Plasma Saga to get this story going. So for a while my main focus will be here, occasionally elsewhere to get Explorers of Destiny out every Friday.**

**Speaking of OCs, I have recently come across a story that is accepting them called The Clashing of the Trainers by Tactic Samurai. Basically he is accepting Trainer OCs for a big tournament, and needs more to continue. I see some potential in this story and hope to be able to witness its taking off, as this appears to be the author's first story. And those of us who have ever written a story can surely relate to wanting our first (or any) to be read and well received. So why not pop by, send in an OC, and support his new author's story. **

**Even if someone writes in a way you don't find aesthetically pleasing or with a flawed story in you opinion, a little positive feedback can help them along. Not pointing fingers to any particular story, that's just the way I feel. I've always felt that people should look at how something can be improved instead of how much it needs improvement. **

**So, OC submission is going to end fairly soon, so send in any remaining OCs. I promise all will be used, but I can't take them forever. That being said, I'll see you next class!**

**Phew, that was a mouthful...sorry it was so long, guys!**


	4. Chapter 4: Wrong Places, Wrong Times

**Well, this chapter turned out a bit longer than I had previously hoped, but I don't anticipate it will be a problem.**

**Today we've got some new OCs from Amerath's Destiny, Number 15 Ugxs Dangerous Laugh, leapingleameer, yours truly(not a username, I mean I used a new OC of my own) MyDarkeAngelGuardian, and I'm pretty sure that wraps it up. (Again, let me know if I messed up or forgot to give credit).**

* * *

Rosalee unlocked the door to room A-78 and begrudgingly wheeled her luggage in. "Carrying luggage…is for the help…" she grunted as she struggled to get it across the doorframe and into the room.

"I couldn't agree more," came the snide response from behind her. Sitting on the left bed was an older girl, probably a senior. Even to the high-standardized Rosalee she appeared beautiful.

She had curly blonde hair the extended down to her mid back. She had almond shaped blue eyes that lit up her pale face like Christmas lights did a snow covered roof. She was of average height, but her graceful willowy shape made her limbs appear longer. She wore a black halter-top dress that faded to sky blue at the bottom.

Reclining on the bed leisurely, her right foot was on the lap of a younger girl who looked happy to be filing its nails. She looked similar to the older girl, with the same eyes (though behind a pair of black rimmed glasses) and hair, but not remarkably so.

Her curly hair only extended to the jawline, and her skin had a more rosy tint to it, implying that she did a bit more outdoors than the other. Her clothing was a bit more modest; a red T-Shirt with a black vest, and blue jeans. Her weathered brown boots sat at the foot of the bed.

The older girl lifted her foot and flexed her toes, admiring the job the younger one had done. "How did I do, Marlena?" she piped excitedly. Rosalee rolled her eyes. If only the help was always this enthusiastic…

Marlena shrugged. "Fine, I guess." Marlena then looked Rosalee in the eyes and gave them a playful roll. Rosalee relayed her past thoughts.

"I'm not hired help," the other girl said informatively instead of bitterly, sticking her feet into her boots. "I'm Marlena's sister!"

"Half-sister," Marlena corrected. "And it appears that this room has grown too crowded. Rosalie, leave."

Rosalee's jaw dropped. Her expression quickly hardened. "First of all, this is my dorm too, so-"

Marlena laughed amusedly and sat up cross-legged. "I was talking to the other one," she sighed matter-of-factly before tossing her hair, "But what a strange coincidence that you share the same name. Already you seem to wear it better."

The insult had soared right over Rosalie's head, who had finished putting on her boots and was making her way to the door. "I'll let you and your roommate get settled. Bye, big sister!"

The younger girl opened the door and exited, causing Marlena to sigh and roll her eyes. "She can be so annoying at times."

"I guess," shrugged Rosalee, "But I'd kill for a servant that would want to handle my feet, and for no pay nonetheless."

"Well, I guess it does have its perks," admitted Marlena, settling back in her relaxed position on the bed. "Now tell me a little about yourself, Rosalee."

Rosalee hefted her suitcase up onto the bed and sat down next to it. "Well, my full name is Rosalee Render. This is my first year, and I aim to be a Coordinator."

"Wait," said Marlena, tapping her chin. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "Render…where have I heard that name before…"

"My father owns Renders Fashion," she said proudly, leaping at the chance to assert herself in a higher position than the other high-class girl.

Marlena's eyes widened. "You don't say? I just love fashion!" And while that was true, there was another truth not revealed by Marlena.

She usually made her own clothes. And she dared not say that before the heiress of an international fashion chain who was of equal or possibly higher stature than she.

Very therapist like, Marlena folded her hands and rested her chin atop them. "Now tell me, Rosalee, how do you propose you will become the best Coordinator you can." This question was the decider for Marlena whether or not Rosalee was worth it.

Rosalee scoffed at the comment. "Easy. I'm going to annihilate those on and above my level, and brush everyone else out of the way."

"Now that," said Marlena with a wolfish grin, "Is why I believe that we're going to get along swimmingly."

…

"Well, what do you think?" asked the short brown-haired boy to the slightly taller blonde who's hand he held as they walked down the dimly lit hallways of the academy's basements.

With all the commotion going on outside…and inside…and all around, for that matter, the couple just wanted a little peace and quiet. The basement was the only place where they found such solace.

The girl tapped her chin. "It's not exactly…erm, what's the word I'm looking for…"

The boy rolled his eyes. "It creeps you out?"

"There we go!" she said, snapping her fingers. She then shot a mischievous glance up to her significant other. "You really know how to pick em, don't you Gus?"

"Don't you know it, sweetheart." The two giggled intimately and nuzzled noses as they continued on ward. The olive skinned girl hiding behind the corner they had just passed rolled her eyes. She wore a white, off-shoulder, short sleeved t-shirt with narrow black straps on the shoulder. The sleeves were red colored, and in the center of the shirt is the a imprint of a stick figure on a hot-air balloon

_Can you two please stop it with the pet talk? Stalking you was already annoying enough…_

This girl, Faye Crane, was after one thing and one thing in particular. It was her lifeblood, the thing she woke up for in the morning. What she would willingly sacrifice blood, sweat and tears to get.

Candy. The blonde, Megan, had a substantial amount tucked away in her purse. Faye could smell it.

Faye was an expert at stealth, and so following a goo-goo eyed couple would normally be a cakewalk for her.

But nooooooooo! These particular lovebirds had to walk through the entire school, and so Faye had to do twice the work. See when stalking someone, you ideally only need to watch your front.

But when being lead through, say, a building swarming with administrators who might get the wrong idea when they see a girl adamantly stalking two unsuspecting people with one carrying a large purse…that's where they overreact.

The two were in the middle of staring each other lovingly in the eyes when there was a loud _THWONG_, and Gus tumbled back clutching his nose.

When the boy had made contact with the large metal door Megan nervously let go of his hand and leapt back. She giggled and straightened her hair.

"Thanks for taking that door like a champ for me, hon," she said and added an irresistible smile.

"No problem," said Gus, his voice muffled by his hands clamped over his possibly broken nose. Faye silently giggled as to not give away her position. And people said Faye was accident prone…

Literally the next second her heel slid back and met a puddle, causing her to slip. She did a most unwilling and uncomfortable split. Faye let out a pained squeak and bit down on her lip, biting back a scream.

Unknowing of their pursuer's follies, Megan studied the electronic door panel. Hands on her knees, she bent over and examined all of the glowing and pulsating buttons.

"I wonder what's in there?" she whispered aloud and raised a hand, finger outstretched. Before Gus could even say something witty about how the shouldn't worry about it, she had pressed a big red button.

_BLOOP! _It flashed twice, and nothing happened.

Faye facepalmed. _Idiot! Have you ever seen a movie!? NEVER press the red button. _Faye braced herself for more pain.

She knew how the situation would go; just the way it went in the cartoons. Faye, thinking herself a safe distance away, would be subject to the security traps triggered by her quarry.

Through Faye's tendency to constantly hurt herself or get hurt by something completely random and out of the ordinary she had somewhat developed an invincibility to such things. Her skin had been burned, bruised, scratched, and swollen. Her bones had been bent, bumped, broken…broken some more times. But still, Faye lived on.

She bit down on her lower lip and braced for a Taser shock or some sort of crusher panel, but with a _WHOOSH _the door before Megan opened. The curious teen slowly tiptoed inside, her less than enthusiastic boyfriend behind her.

"Wow…" whispered Megan as she beheld all of the elaborate machinery around her. Along a line on the ceiling were what looked like beefy throwing disks, a light in the middle glowing. Each was connected to several wires, which ran across the ceiling, down the walls, and into the large cylindrical containers holding thirty Pokéballs each.

They had stumbled upon the schools Pokémon storage area. The wires seemed to feed energy into the machines that kept the Pokéballs' virtual environments charged and functioning. Little known fact: Pokéballs containing Pokémon needed to be charged every once in a while to continue functioning. Every time you visit the Pokémon Center and Nurse Joy uses her healing machine is one such time.

Some individual wire fed into what appeared to be diamond shaped electrical sockets on the walls, each with a small bulb poking out.

Megan and Gus, however, didn't see this. Nor did they notice when Megan stretched her arms to gesture around at the grandness of the place during her, "Wow," one was knocked off and fell into her purse.

Faye had dashed up behind them and braced against the doorframe. She peered around and saw that the couple were far to occupied with all the techy bells and whistles around them. _Now's my chance…_

Silent as a Rattata, Faye crept up behind Megan, reached into her purse, snatched a handful of candy bars, and was off on her merry way.

Faye Crane's first heist of the school year had been a success. And she was just warming up.

Unknown of her recent theft, Megan continued to marvel at the facility. She made her way to a random Pokéball containment machine and peered inside. "What kind of Pokémon do you think are in here?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Uh…I dunno," he answered modestly, scratching the back of his head. He had been busy just wondering how interesting this stuff could really be…oh well. Only the best for his girlfriend.

As the two continued to behold the technological genius that was this facility, the saucer shapes on the ceiling let out another pulse of alternating current. The electricity was funneled down in tubes and into either a Pokéball machine or a socket.

Except for one. The one missing its plug.

Once the current reached its destination, the outlet crackled with purple electricity and flares. Sparks began to fly (from the socket, not the couple) and smoke hissed out.

"Huh?" Megan turned around and shrieked. "What did we do!?"

"I have no idea!" yelled Gus nervously. "I wanted to leave anyway."

There was a great mechanical groan and a declining whir, and it sounded like generators and other vital machines were turning of. The lights all flickered out.

Gus and Megan stood in the darkness for a few moments. "Well…that can't be good."

And then the ear-piercing shriek tore through the bowels of the basement.

"NEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Clutching their ears Gus and Megan fell onto the ground as the shrill sonic boom ripped apart their eardrums. The glass encasing the Pokéball containers shattered and sprayed crystalline dust.

Faye, who had yet to reach the end of the twisting labyrinth of underground tunnels tripped and belly flopped onto the ground once the scream penetrated her skull.

Struggling to her feet and picking up her loot, Faye continued on, refusing to give up now. For candy, she would not surrender!

"Let's get out of here!" Gus yelled to Megan's form, sprawled on the floor and covering her ears.

"What!?" she yelled back. The banshee scream dulled all other noise to mere rumbling in the air.

Ben rolled his eyes and shot to his feet. "Never mind!" He grabbed his girlfriend's wrist and dragged her up, breaking for the door.

As soon as the cleared the opening, the scream abruptly stopped. All of the lights flickered back on and generators and such whirred back to life. The door slid shut behind them, and audibly locked with a loud _KA-CHUNK _that echoed through the tunnels.

In the room that had started it all, nothing moved except for a few last renegade pieces of glass, clattering to the floor and shattering on the ground.

And then all was still for another moment. Until a head poked around the corner.

It looked like a glowing orange raindrop shrouded in a fluorescent barrier of electricity. It also bore a wild grin and equally untamed, roguish eyes.

"Nehehehe…" it snickered. Its blub-like body flickered blue, and then is shot like a small lightning bolt into the empty socket.

Blue sparks flickered on it for a few seconds, but then faded.

And then the Pokéballs began to shake.

…...

Liara Song rhythmically tapped away at her laptop as if she were meant to do so. Behind her thin clear-rimmed glasses, her smooth brown eyes were serenely glued to the screen and the program she was running in the school's computer lab.

Next to her were several packets and several pens; Liara never liked to be unprepared. Many of the packets were one-hundred percent completed, while other actually had notes and additions added into the print.

Across from her in the other tow was Roxanne Stroud, finishing up a few questions in the Evolutionary Studies packet she had been assigned to complete before class started. She was doing it on the bus, but her phone died and she was left with a few questions she didn't know the answer to.

Roxanne blew a strand out of her face and blinked her dry eyes. Snapping out of her funk, Liara's constant typing became apparent to her.

Swiveling around in the chair Roxanne noticed her working hard, and decided to reach out in the attempts at making her first friend at the academy.

"Hello," she said politely, "Whatcha doin?"

Liara continued her work, heedless of Roxanne's invitation to conversation. Roxanne blinked her eyes as if it would clear away the image of Liara simply ignoring her. _Is…is she for real!?_

Roxanne realized what she was doing and took a quick, even breath. _Control that anger, Roxie…it only gets you into trouble._

Liara finished up a problem and turned to Roxanne. She brushed some of her loose brown hair out of her face and smiled slightly. "Just finishing up some school work."

"Really? Me to! What are you working on? I'm finishing up my Ev. Studies packet."

"Well, I was actually just taking a break from my school work," said Liara. She had a very light tone of voice, almost a mix between sighing and actual speak. "Fun times are over, Liara. You can do your trigonometry problems later."

Roxanne blinked again, taken aback once again. _Did I just hear "trigonometry" and "fun" in the same sentence without "is not" in between?_

Roxanne continued trying to make conversation with this very…very…very peculiar girl. Her throat became dry as she strove to make conversation as well as not look like an idiot, which now it became apparent that Liara darn well could make her so.

"So…trig, huh…those are hard," said Roxanne as she racked her brain for ways to make trig sound fun like Liara had. "You know, I sometimes play hard games for the challenge too…"

Liara shrugged. "It's not that. Math just seems to calm me down. With math, I can just breeze through something and clear my mind." She turned back to her computer like that statement was no thing, as well as failing to notice that Roxanne's jaw had dropped.

And then she administered the piece de résistance. "But, I guess not everyone can be good at everything. Some things just come harder to others. Like how you could probably relate with soccer: you can't get a 'strike' on your first 'at-bat', right?"

Perhaps Liara messing something up lightened the load slightly, but not by much. First Roxanne wondered how Liara knew she played soccer, but then realized that the girl had been perceptive enough to notice the soccer cleats.

But Liara had just administered a rather sick burn. Roxanne's rage began to bubble through uncontrollably. "Well…" she hissed, her hands balled into fists and her face turning redder than her hair, 'If you're so smart…why aren't you finished with your schoolwork then?"

Her expression brightened a little to that of a smug victory, but she was sucked back down to the Earth by Liara's black hole of, "Oh, I did. It's not that I don't like to challenge myself; I use math and such to relax. So I'm testing myself with the higher level summer packets."

Liara bit down on the end of her pen. "You know, these actually hold me up a bit. I spent like, five minutes on one of these!"

At this point, Roxanne was surprised that the heat generated by her body as well as the enraged shaking didn't permanently weld her to the chair.

In an effort to prevent her temper from going off, Roxanne briskly picked up all of her belongings and prepared to head for the door.

"Is there a problem?"

Teeth clenched, Roxanne looked up and nearly shrieked. Standing before her, smiling pleasantly was Charon of Team Galactic.

The old man chuckled and patted Roxanne on the shoulder. That did not remedy the problem in the least.

Liara turned around and noticed the portly ex-villain behind her. "Oh, hello Professor Charon."

"And hello to you, Ms. Song," he replied courteously, even smiling. To Roxanne this rightfully seemed quite out of place considering this was the man who helped nearly destroy all of creation.

And now he was touching her. Albeit appropriately and in a friendly manner, it was still weird.

"I understand that you may be wary of my being here," he said to Roxanne, "But I assure you I am a changed man. I've renounced my evil ways and have decided that there is no true manner in which to amend my own life."

He gestured around him to the computer lab. "And so I have decided to help as many other lives as possible by sending the next generation of the world's greatest on their path."

"Very well spoken, Professor," commented Liara as she began to save and close out of her programs. Though as she did, the lights flickered and several computer screens turned on and off.

Her laptop was fine considering the main battery was only about half drained and the auxiliary power was at one-hundred percent. But something peculiar did happen.

In a split few seconds Liara noticed something pop up on her computer, and then fade the second the power came back on.

Liara quickly opened up a notes application and recorded everything that had just transpired on her screen so that she'd remember later. She also knew how to full well navigate a lot of literally everything that happened on her PC, so finding the anomaly would be child's play.

"Hm," said Charon looking inquisitively up at the ceiling.

"Is something the matter, Professor," Liara asked, alternatively searching for a clue from the Professor himself.

He shook his head. "No, nothing. This has been happening a lot since the new generator was installed." Even Roxanne noticed this: even though he was trying to act like nothing was wrong, the old man's face could no longer hide emotions as it possibly once could. Something was up.

Both Liara and Roxanne were snapped out of their trance when Charon passed between the two towards his desk. "I'll put a word in with the maintenance staff. You two ladies have a nice day."

"Thank you!" they both said at the same time, gathered their things and left.

Liara took ahead of Roxanne once they got out the door. While Roxanne was the type to lose her temper a lot, she also tried her best to apologize and make up afterwards."

"Hey, Liara," she called to the paler girl and caught up, "I wanted to apologize for being rude before."

Liara simply nodded without even speaking or simply looking her in the eyes, which just served to make Roxanne even angrier. Opening her mouth and raising a finger she prepared to respond, but was interrupted by a sudden cry from behind.

"Run!" came the desperate cry from behind. Both girls turned and weren't startled, but simply puzzled by the sight of the olive skinned girl with the white, red sleeved shirt running at them. Several small items were clutched in her hand.

"Gogogogogogogo!" she yelled breathlessly as Roxanne and Liara simply stared at her, utterly lost at why she was running with such dread.

And then the massive Ariados skittered around the corner at the end of the hallway, going too fast for that a moment it was on the wall. Both girls shrieked and took off as Faye continued behind them, almost caught up.

"What did you do?" Roxanne yelled at her, still running for her life. Liara pushed up her glasses and stumbled as she gripped her laptop case so that it didn't bash up against any walls.

"The Ariados…seems to be…acting…territorial…" puffed Liara, who was not used to exercise. Though Liara was quite thin, she was actually pretty out of shape.

Faye stumbled and barreled into the two other girls, taking them down onto the ground. All three shrieked and scrambled to get up, kicking each other and causing all sorts of accidental bumps and scratches.

This had allowed the Ariados time to catch up, and the three girls had shifted into the perfect position to watch it bare its fangs and leapt at them. All three shrieked and covered their faces.

"Lexus, use Crunch!"

A massive purple claw shot at the Ariados like a bullet, clamping around its belly. With a mighty toss Ariados was thrown against the wall at the end of the hallway. Its front leg twitched once, and then it went into full unconsciousness.

Faye got to her feet and came face-to-face with the massive Drapion. "Eep!" she shrieked before huddling behind Liara. "S-so m-many bugs…"

"Hm, said Liara, scratching her chin before whipping out a pencil and pad to scribble down some notes, "Entomophobia. Fear of insects. Actually, Drapion is a Dark/Poison-Type. Though it did evolve from a-"

Roxanne groaned and picked herself up. "Save it…just…ugh…"

The blonde haired girl with the glasses standing next to the Drapion giggled. "You three sure are a trip. My name is Rosalie Sachman. And you guys?"

"Roxanne Stroud." She jerked a thumb at her new frenemy. "Liara Song. And…" She stopped at Faye. "Actually, we just met. And I've gotta say: not the best first impression ever."

Faye giggled and bent over to pick up her candies strewn about the floor while remaining very wary of Lexus the Drapion's position. He sent a neighborly wave her way, causing her to flinch.

Liara continued to probe the poor phobia-afflicted girl with questions. "So, what did you do to offend the Ariados. Wake it? Disturb its nest? Steal its mate?"

"Nah," she said casually as she peeled the rapper off of a chocolate bar, "Just nabbed some-"

Liara's eyes went wide and she slapped the chocolate out of Faye's hand, leaping back. "Candy!?" The mathlete glared at Faye. "Are you trying to poison me!?"

Faye gave Roxanne a "What's her deal?" look, furrowing her eyebrows and shrugging her shoulders. Roxanne simply waved her hand and shook her head. _I'll try to explain later, but don't expect anything good…_

"Relax," Faye sighed as she examined her stash. "It's just candy." Faye's eyebrows furrowed once again, though this time in true confusion, also pursing her lips. In her hand she held a small bulb that looked like it belonged in a socket. "Though this is new."

Down the hall there was a faint crash, and Faye bolted. She screamed something incoherent before dashing down the hallway.

"What did she say?" asked Rosalie, looking up to Lexus. The Drapion shrugged. "Huh…it sounded the 'tissue'…"

"I heard 'kangaroo'…" said Roxanne. Liara thought for a moment, and her face brightened when she came up with the answer.

"I know! She said 'there's two!'"

And that was exactly when the second Ariados rounded the corner, poison flying from its hissing maw.

All three girls shrieked and took off, with Lexus skittering behind them.

…

Hunter determinedly wheeled herself onto the opposite side of the battlefield as the crowd and the prior competitors filed back into the bleachers. The frail girl made good time to her side and flipped around presently, eyes blazing with fury and ready to face down her opponent.

Mako tugged at the color of her shirt; the tension was palpable and she was honestly a bit freaked out at the hard stares both sides were shooting at each other.

Emil spat into the grass and cracked his neck. "You know, I actually feel kinda bad about this," he said venomously as he took a Pokéball from his belt, "I usually have a policy about beating little girls in wheelchairs, except for when-"

"They get in the way of your _ambition_, we know," said Hunter, making a bit of a gagging motion when she said "ambition." She too removed a Pokéball from her pocket and tapped the center button. It swelled to its full size.

Tony and Will sat down on some available space at the bottom right row of the bleachers, sending out Mickey and Lancelot to get some air. Mickey curled up around Will's feet while Lancelot sat on Tony's lap.

Lancelot looked down on the Cruel Pokémon and scoffed. "You know, I spared you your dignity," he chided in the language of Pokémon.

Mickey grinned, and then stretched her legs out and yawned. "Though only thing you spared me of was having to waste my time whooping your round little behind."

Lancelot growled and nearly exploded, but bit back his rant for the sake of the chivalrous attitude he kept, or at least tried to keep, towards women. He simply plopped down on Tony's lap to pout, arms crossed.

Nathan bit his lip and leaned forward in his seat. His foot tapped nervously against the ground, and his ears turned red.

Veronica, who was sitting behind him, noticed this. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he seemed startled by her friendly request.

"What's the matter?" she asked the stranger. Nathan deemed the request friendly enough and addressed it as such.

"I'm just kinda worried about Hunter," he said resting his chin in his hand and frowning worriedly at his new friend.

"Is she your sister?" asked Veronica, squinting her eyes to try and get a look at Hunter from across the field. It would explain why he had been staying with her the duration of Will and Tony's battle, and with the hair and all they had a tiny resemblance.

"No…"

"Girlfriend?"

Nathan nearly jumped out of his seat. He started awkwardly laughing and sweatdropping all over the place. "N-no! That would be crazy! Hahahahaha…"

Veronica leaned back in her seat, a bit nervous in regards to Nathan's current mental state. But she tentatively directed her attention back on the battle about to begin.

All in all she did want Hunter to win. Emil was a concerted jerk who needed to be put in his place. Veronica knew better than to judge a person's skill by appearance, but compared to Emil, Hunter just didn't look like she had it in her…

"Are the competitor's ready?" Mako asked as she stood perfectly aligned with the line of scrimmage across the battlefield, both arms out. Emil nodded, as did Hunter.

She waved both arms down. "Begins!"

"Murakumo, stand by for battle!" cried Emil. Out of his Pokéball came a tall, humanoid Pokémon. It had long green blades coming out of its elbows, and its head looked somewhat like a green helmet.

It swiped its blades to show off, and then ended standing in a ninja pose; on one leg with both arms pressed together against its lips. Emil's first Pokémon was a Gallade.

Will whistled. "A Gallade...those things are tough."

"Yeah," agreed Tony, jostling Lancelot in his lap. "Who knows? Maybe you'll have blades that awesome someday!"

"Kara." _Humph. They aren't _that _impressive…_

Hunter studied her opponent, tilting her head from side to side and squinting her eyes to absorb every last detail. _As if it needs to be studied, _thought Amira as she impatiently waited for the battle to start already. _It's a Gallade! It goes fast and it cuts things! Basic knowledge. Just send out a defensive wall and be done with it._

Hunter grinned. "Suicune, I choose you."

The entire crowd froze in a collective gasp. Some let out a quick squeak as if reality had just hoodwinked them. Some leaned forward in anticipation to see the Legendary beast. Needless to say Hunter now had everyone's attention. Even Soren looked somewhat interested now.

Mako swallowed hard. Her throat had grown dry. _A…a Suicune!?_

"But that's impossible…"Will whispered in disbelief. He consulted Tony. "I thought that Eusine guy in Johto was hot on its tail 24/7. If he found it, wouldn't it be all over the news?"

Tony snorted. "Yeah, that would be if _he_ found it. Apparently, Hunter did. The only thing that'll be all over the news involving Eusine is him flipping out if he finds this out."

"True that."

Emil was hopping mad. The entire crowd had now rallied behind Hunter just because she was brandishing some Legendary mutt! Half of them had even forgot that there was a battle going on; half of them forgot he was even _here_!

_No ambition, any of them! _He growled to himself. _They throw all their chips on the table for Hunter just because she has a Legendary! And her being all casual about it isn't even the worst part! They fail to even assess the Pokémon on the field. If they did, they'd clearly see that Murakumo will clearly win._

And he didn't waste another second proving it to them. "Murakumo, use Night Slash!" Murakamo leapt forward with dizzying speed, bringing back one of his blade arms.

The glowed black and crackled with dark energy and extended slightly in length. Emil grinned and casually stuck his hands into his pockets. _Water attacks are sluggish, and Psychic won't work on Murakumo. Hunter won't be able to stop me._

Murakumo bounded once more and cleared the final stretch like a bolt out of a cannon and swept the Night Slash across Suicune's cheek. Once the job was done he began to backflip back to Emil's side.

The Gallade slid to a stop and looked up, cringing when he did. Suicune's face was staring up at an angle, the way his jab had left it. But there was no visible damage.

Suicune steadied its head and shook off the brief brush with Murakumo. A glance over at Hunter further stoked the fires of Emil's rage; she was simply sitting in her chair, arms crossed and a smug grin on her face.

"Suicune, be a darling and use Shadow Ball."

And then Suicune did a most uncharacteristic thing (at least as far as Will's knowledge of Suicune went). It flashed a haughty, toothy grin and then launched the Shadow Ball.

"That's weird…" Will thought aloud. Tony, Veronica, and Lancelot all looked his way. Even Mickey poked an eye open from her cat nap to check on her Trainer. "I thought in all of the documentations and books and stuff that Suicune is all stoic and heroic…"

"Nice rhyme," added Veronica with a smile and a wink.

"Unintentional," added Will and then continued on. "Then what's the deal with-"

The Shadow Ball struck Murakumo and knocked him back several feet. His arms had come together to form a sort of shield, but the damage was still enough to hurt.

"Teleport, and then Leaf Blade!" ordered Emil furiously. Murakumo sucked in a deep breath and then vanished, appearing in the blink of an eye near Suicune's hind legs.

He swept his glowing blade arms at the Legendary dog's thigh, eliciting a pained noise, yet a much unexpected one: a yelping squeak. That's when everything started to make sense.

Emil cringed when Murakumo returned to his side and he once again checked his opponents. "Are you kidding me!?"

Suicune enveloped itself in a glowing ball of purple light, which shrank and then faded. Suicune was no longer present. Instead, a small block fox with a red plume of fur atop its head appeared, snickering.

Once again the Pokémon caused a mass commotion in the bleachers. Some laughed, other commented on the brilliance of the strategy. Even Emil couldn't help but to think twice about Hunter.

_Looks like she's taking this battle seriously after all…_

Hunter took his silence as a sign of defeat. "What's the matter?" she nagged, flashing him a toothy grin mirroring that of her Zorua. "Too ambitious for you?"

That really did it. Emil sucked in a deep breath, his fists clenched and his eyes bulged. "You want a real battle!?"

However before Hunter could tell Emil to bring it, someone else decided to increase the supply of "it."

A massive rock crashed down into the middle of the field, coming from the east. Slithering towards the field, eyes ablaze with the wild desire for destruction was an Onix. Students screamed and parted from its path.

Further along, the teens at the battlefield could see a cluster of Flying-Types swooping down on picnickers enjoying their lunch.

The students on the bleachers were too in shock at the amount of chaos going on around them that they failed to notice the massive Jellicent drifting up behind them. The second that the top row felt the chill of its shadow, it was too late.

The mustachioed menace wrapped its broad tentacles around three students, taking them from their seats kicking and screaming.

The amount would've been four if Amira hadn't leapt out of the way in the nick of time. Though she escaped capture at the hands of the massive Jellyfish Pokémon, she did bang her knee on a lower tier of the metal bleachers.

She growled and cursed, grabbing her knee as she fell onto a section in the middle of two tiers, the part where people usually put their feet. Her eyes squinted open just to behold the shadows of several other Pokémon fly over her. _Uh-oh…_

A Braviary landed in front of a group of fleeing teenagers, stopping them dead in their tracks. Plenty had come without their Pokéballs, anticipating a simple afternoon with friends and a couple battles to pass the time.

The massive Eagle Pokémon screeched at its prey, and they screeched back (though in sheer terror). Trying to flee they tripped over each other, and several were left on the ground trying desperately to get up.

One such Trainer was Rainbow. She fell onto her him, scrambling up onto her knee and preparing to push off and get up, but she slipped into the mud and belly flopped.

Tony had been the closest responder who was on his feet and not running in terror. Lancelot in tow he dashed over to Rainbow and slid to a stop in front of her, dropping to one knee and grabbing a hand while Lancelot grabbed the other.

The blonde boy heaved urgently, just as his faithful Karrablast did, but both caught sight of the massive talon Braviary was raising to crush all three of them, depriving them of precious seconds that if they had used, they could've pulled Rainbow to safety.

"Blaze Kick!" From the bleachers sprang a Blaziken, one of its muscular legs ablaze with fire. The kick jabbed into Braviary's cheek, knocking the bird to the side and sending Blaziken neatly back to Amira's side.

Even though he had stopped to watch in horror as the Braviary's claw was prepared to shred them to pieces, Tony had kept on pulling on Rainbow. And when the pressure was relieved, the two went tumbling back.

Rainbow landed on top of Tony, their faces inches from each other. Breathlessly (and quite awkwardly) staring into Tony's eyes, Rainbow managed a shaky, "Thanks."

Tony felt more pressure on him than when Braviary had been about to squash him. Before he could formulate his nervous answer, Amira rolled her eyes and took the compliment that was do.

"Thanks, but if you didn't notice, we're kinda in the middle of something." Amira rolled her eyes when the two proved to still be in an awkward and confused trance, too much so than to be able to move. "Can you lovebirds please do this later?"

That got penetrated the fog. Rainbow rolled off of Tony and the both of them stumbled out quick explanations and panicked answers.

"No, he was just-"

"Braviary, and the claw, and-"

"Yeah, and he was trying to get me up-"

"And the mud, and the-"

"Golbat!"

Amira blinked and scrunched her left cheek. "The Golbat? Is that some kind of code for an inside joke?"

"No!" yelled Will, pointing to the purple winged bat baring its fangs at the exposed two Trainers. "It's the thing about to kill you guy!"

"Lancelot, Brick Break!" Tony said, pointing to his companion and then to the swooping Golbat. Lancelot nodded and leapt into the air, bashing Golbat on the head with a Brick Break.

Seeing that job done Will focused back on the knot of Pokémon that had emerged from the woods, just in time to catch a Machop heading for him with a Cross Chop.

He bit his lip and braced himself. Mickey was his only available Pokémon, and she'd take a lot of damage from that attack without being able to dish out much herself.

"Brawn, Thunderpunch!"

The Machop was slammed in the cheek by the attacking Electivire, who beat his fists together excitedly after the successful attack.

A breathless Veronica caught up with her Pokémon. Will nodded in her direction. "Thanks for the save."

Doubling over to catch her breath, she gave a thumbs up. "No…problem…" Veronica tried to work out the cramp she had gotten from running all around and ensuring that the defenseless Trainers got to safety, while also rallying those with Pokémon. "Do you think…do you think we can pull this off?"

"Are you kidding?" said Will with one of his world famous sarcastic-optimistic grins. "It ain't over till the fat lady sings."

The ground shook, and both Will and Veronica were engulfed in the shadow of a Rhyperior and a mob of other Pokémon. Will counted a total of seventeen.

The Trainer gulped. "It's over."

* * *

**Wild Pokemon are on the loose! Why are they rampaging like this? What of the mysterious Electric-Type that escaped from the basement and into the school's electrical grid. Is Charon truly reformed and up to good? And will Roxanne finish her homework!? The thrilling answers next time!**

**Next chapter we'll get a few more OCs, notably teachers. Bout time they did their jobs...**

**Agatha: Ahem...**

**Oh, but you're doing great! Keep up the good work!**

**Speaking of OCs, submissions are closed for the foreseeable future. Sorry, but I am just positively swamped with OCs. For now, we've got our cast and crew.**

**Also, I'd just like to kindly ask: please don't pester me about when a certain OC is going to be used or when the chapters will be released. I'm really glad that you guys care about this story, and questions are great, but I have zero knowledge about a chapter until I sit down and type it. Thank you for your consideration.**

**Alright, last thing. Just wanted to point out that Will, Mako, Harkin, Hunter, and Liara are my OCs. Just for reference.**

**Now I have the arduous task of sorting through my OC records and creating a section about who is in what class so classroom scenes are easier to make come the time that they're needed...joy. But anything that helps to make the story better makes me happy at heart, so I will do it with gusto!**

**See you next class!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Idea

**Today's chapter will feature OCs from DeadlyThunder195, Pokekid543, Lady Monopolist, Eman003, and A-Gallade. Please let me know if I forgot to give credit for someone.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"C'mon, just one cup of coffee, that's all I'm asking!"

Eleanor Morris puffed a strand of spiky royal blue hair out of her face so the person firing salvo after salvo of flirtatious questions could see her rolling her eyes.

The new teacher wasn't plain in the least. She had been on her high school's Pokéathlon team, and had in general been an active child, resulting in her athletic build. Her otherwise skinny, tanned arms were toned with her slight muscles. Ellie's spiky blue hair extended to her shoulders. Although it looked quite spikey, it was in fact rather soft. In the average lighting of her classroom they looked the normal green, but in direct sunlight outside her eyes often appeared teal.

Ellie was currently making sure that the desk in her classroom was in what she perceived to be perfectly presentable, and that kept changing every time another look was taken.

This picture frame had to be titled just this much. The calendar had to be moved forward that much. Every meticulous detail to make sure that Ellie was comfortable with her first year teaching at the academy.

And frankly, her co-worker's friendly, kittenish questions weren't helping.

"Matt, don't you have anything better to do?" Ellie asked sarcastically, leaning on her elbow. Matthew Williams, the World History teacher, flashed a bright smile. For a guy with a buzz cut, he was quite open and friendly.

"Hey, it's not like I'm coming at you or anything." His bottom lip began to quiver and he sniffled, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "You wouldn't let *sniffle* poor me sit alone and eat, would you?"

Drumming her fingers on the desk, Ellie sighed and relented. She _had _been sitting at this desk for around three hours organizing and setting up. A little food and conversation would do her some good.

The Battling teacher stood and worked away the pins and needles she had earned in her legs and lower half from all the stationary behavior. She wore black trousers with a purple hoodie and a black body warmer ten closed over it. Under the hoodie she had on a black skin tight t shirt. She also sported black and purple hi tops, black fingerless gloves and purple aviator goggles that she kept on her forehead.

Matt whistled. "Quite the snazzy dresser, I see."

"Save it," she said with a sardonic grin. "This isn't exactly my Sunday best. I'm just trying to wear my comfortable clothes while I have the chance. Once school starts up we'll be in uniform pretty much 24/7."

"Bummer," said Matthew. That would mean he'd have to give up his favorite dress attire, black jeans, black & red sneakers, and a white shirt that said "Don't Make Me Use My Teacher Voice."

"I know. I mean, the dress kinda brings out my hair and eyes, but those shoes make my feet absolutely ache by the end of the day," said Ellie, feeling a bit grumpy as the feeling resurfaced.

"I mean, Nichole gets away with that stuff all the time. Why not ask her?"

Ellie thought back to her best friend at the school, Nicole Garcia, who taught History of Coordinating. To most people Nicole seemed icy and a bit snobby, but Ellie had given her a chance and found that her bookish and somewhat revulsive nature made it seem that way.

In truth, Nicole was actually a great friend to have deep down, and the two young women had bonded quickly. They currently shared a teacher dorm, in fact.

"Nicole has small feet. Plus she doesn't really care much about clothing."

"You know, let's just get off of work for a while," said Matt with a wink. Ellie rolled her eyes. "So it won't be awkward."

Ellie snorted. "Awkward? How could anything be more awkward than the time you asked my twin brother out on a date thinking he was me?"

Blushing and scratching the back of his head, Matthew tentatively remembered the time when Ellie's identical twin, Alex, had visited the school. The two looked virtually alike n almost every way (of course, except for the male/female anatomy, but that goes without saying).

Matthew had gone into the teacher restroom near the cafeteria, and Alex had been waiting outside to use it once Matt was done since his sister gave him permission to do so.

When Matthew emerged, Alex had been standing with his back to the bathroom, looking out the window. Matthew didn't take the time to look for the finer details, and, well…

Ellie quickly bent over to pick up an eraser that she had dropped on the floor when walking into her room, arms filled with supplies.

"And to make matters worse, it was near the bathroom, no less." Ellie added an ironic wink of her own. "Aren't a lot of places that could be considered more awkward, now are there?"

The male teacher formed his right hand into the shape of a mouth and moved it up and down to simulate jaw flapping while he rolled his head. Matthew opened the door for Ellie like a gentleman.

"You know, now I notice that his spikey hair goes to the left, and yours go to the right. That's kinda cute."

His grin was cut short by Ellie, who pushed the on doorknob and sent the door onto his foot, crushing it. He howled and pain and jumped back.

"Cute? You haven't even seen the Christmas cards yet…"she grumbled.

Hopping on one foot behind her, Matt added, "Well now I want to see them."

She groaned and facepalmed as Matt shut the door behind them. When he turned back around he found her index finger probing his chest, her steely gaze a mixture of humor and seriousness.

"Just a cup of coffee. _That's it!_ And I'm only doing it because I actually want coffee…"

"Maybe you could 'want' to help me, too?"

Matt and Ellie spun around to find the source of the new voice, the aforementioned Nicole Garcia. The olive skinned woman was of below average height, and it seemed that the stack of books that threatened to snap her skinny form in half was taller than her.

Behind her square rimmed glasses was a set of brilliant green eyes. Her dark brown hair was currently down, but when Nicole got deep into her work she would usually keep it in a ponytail.

Nicole's Chandelure, Musharna, and Porygon-Z were currently carrying stacks of books of equal size via psychic powers, and her Floatzel was helping as well.

"Nicole, is that you back there?" Matthew teased. He knew Nicole tended to do things to her maximum-and sometimes beyond-capacity. Which is one of the reasons Harkin favored her so much: efficiency.

Although Nicole had suffered numerous injuries from her overenthusiasm for work (broken foot from dropping a stack of books, sprained neck from falling down the stairs carrying a stack of books, two broken arms from a falling bookshelf, black eye after attempting to write using her teeth after breaking her arms) she never seemed to learn her lesson and take it slow.

"We were just gonna go grab some coffee. Wanna come?" invited Ellie. Hidden behind her daunting stack of books Nicole rolled her eyes.

"Oh I'd _love _to! Hey, here's an idea! Maybe if I try hard enough, I can develop psychic powers like these three and hold this eighty pound stack of books while I drink tea and crumpets with you two! Genius!"

Matthew raised a finger. "Okay, first of all, it's coffee and donuts. Second-"

"GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO!"

An olive skin girl rushed past in a blur, making Nicole stumble. Her pile of books swayed, and she swayed along with it to keep it up. _Don't you dare fall!_

"C'mere, Faye!" shouted another girl, this one much shorter and with red hair (and a red face) raced by as well with a blond girl with glasses close behind. "C'mere so I can kill you!"

"This thing…will probably kill us anyway!" huffed yet another girl who had been lagging behind the rest.

"I KNOW!" the red haired one called as she rounded a corner. "IF I ONLY HAVE A FEW MORE MINUTES, I WANNA MAKE 'EM COUNT! GET BACK HERE, FAYE!"

Ellie protested, but it was far too late. "Hey, no running in the-agh!" A shriek pierced her ears, which probably saved her.

Startled, Ellie stumbled into the wall and just out of the path of an angry Ariados, which would've steamrolled into her had she not been surprised.

Picking herself up, Ellie looked over to Matthew. He was also up against the wall, red in the face and shaking with fear.

"Was that…was that you that screamed just now?"

Offense swam onto his face. "Psh, me? Naw, it was, uh…Nicole! You know how much of a little girl she is."

"Uh, this little girl could use some help!?" The stack of books was becoming quite volatile, and threatened to fall at any moment.

Ellie's had entered "Good-Teacher Mode," and the request had gone right over her head. The desire to protect-and then discipline-her students washed over her.

"Hey! No running!" shouted the athletic Battling teacher as she took off in pursuit. Matt quickly came to terms with the situation and chased after her.

"Ellie! What about our coffee!?"

Nicole gritted her teeth and struggled to keep the books steady. _Sure! Why not ignore the frail woman with the books? She'll handle it!_

The books gave one final wobble and steadied themselves. Nicole let out a sigh of relief, just as her nose began to itch.

She sneezed, and the books blanketed her in a pile like a mountain of snow.

"Ow…."

…

"Mickey, Shadow Claw, go!" commanded a sweaty Will. The disgruntled and exhausted Trainer wiped some more dust out of his eye as his Liepard lunged at the Mismagius, finishing it off.

The poor feline fell to the ground, ready and willing to do it all over again, but panting heavily. Will's KO count had gone through the roof, but the battle was definitely taking its toll on everyone.

Clouds of dust were rising all around, and several small fires had been started in the fields. Pokémon charged in and out of the dust clouds, from underground, and dive bombed from the air.

"Forty-two," grunted Will as the Ghost-Type hit the ground. He looked over his shoulder to Veronica, who he was in direct competition with. "What're you at?"

"Forty-nine!" she called back. Will was surprised to hear her number jump so high from what it had been until he noticed the Pokémon she and Brawn had just knocked out.

"Dodrio only counts as one!"

"What!? No fair! Three brains, three points!"

Making her fear that this would be the norm if she hung out with these people often, Amira rolled her eyes yet again. "Would you two just make out so we can get this over with!?" she snapped.

It wasn't enough that her knee was now throbbing; these idiots had to insist on making her head do the same. Will and Veronica's competition. Hunter and Emil's arguing over strategy. THE BLASTED CRIES OF A HUNDRED RAMPAGING POKÉMON!

Quite childishly, Will stuck his tongue out at Amira and responded to the sound of hooves pounding on the ground. Headed right for him was a Mamoswine, and the Twin Tusk Pokémon was M-A-D mad.

"Mickey, Iron Tail!" said Will, feeling bad for his wounded Pokémon. From his belt he unclipped another Pokémon, and a knot formed in his stomach as he considered using it.

_Should I…? _he thought, biting his lip. _No, better not be greedy. I'll wait._

Mickey hissed and leapt into the air, tail glowing silver. She flipped and smashed Mamoswine in the face, but as the creature thrashed and stumbled back in pain it caught her with a Double-Hit attack. She was out cold.

"No!" cried Will in desperation, running to meet his fainted Pokémon. Just as he reached her, the Mamoswine got itself back together and charged once again.

Amira gritted her teeth. _Well, I've saved 'em all so far. Why not him? _"Tropius, use-"

"APPLE THROOOOOOW!"

Amira blinked and recoiled her hand. "Apple Throw? Is that a new move?"

She was answered by a clonk to the head from the red fruit in question. Amira grumbled and nursed the bump forming on the back of her head as Gabby jumped down from the bleachers behind her and began pelting the Mamoswine with apples.

"Mamoooh!" The Ice Age beast reared at the sundering assault of fruit. Will decided to question the methods of his rescue later. For now, he returned Mickey to her Pokéball and scrambled to his feet.

He reached Veronica out of breath. "I'm out…"

"Me to!" cried Tony, running to meet them with Lancelot unconscious in his arms. Rainbow was following him, taking down two Murkrow with her Roselia, Rose.

"My friends are almost all fainted as well!"

Veronica bit her lip. Tony, Rainbow, and Will were all very capable Trainers. If one by one they were falling, then how long did they truly have?

So far Veronica had lost Vince, Lei, and Van (her Houndoom, Jellicent, and Scrafty respectively). Only Brawn and Rosaline, her Lopunny, remained standing, and both were looking quite weathered.

"Okay, here's the plan-"

"Tropius, Leaf Tornado!"

Amira snapped off a hasty command to her Tropius, but to no avail. Not very surprisingly, the Mamoswine had recovered from Gabby's Apple Throw attack and was charging once again.

It tore through the leaves being projected its way and tossed Tropius to the side like a rag doll, heading straight for Gabby and Amira.

Amira was pulled onto the ground by her Blaziken, but Gabby wasn't so lucky as to have her Pokémon out.

Mamoswine tossed her up into the air and held firm, tusks pointed up. As Blaziken pulled her back onto her feet, Amira wondered why it didn't just finish Gabby with an Ancientpower or a Blizzard.

And then its tusks glinted at the tips. Amira flinched and broke out into a cold sweat. "He's gonna spear her!"

The Pokéball from before flew into Will's hand. There was no other choice. "Now or never!"

His arms was in mid throw when a Skarmory swooped in and grabbed Gabby out of the air, fluttering above the Mamoswine. On the backs of a Hydreigon and a Flygon, respectively, were two boys.

The one on the Hydreigon had spiky brown hair and white skin. He had slightly toned shoulders, but nothing really remarkable. Veronica looked a bit stronger than he, in fact.

On the Flygon sat a boy who was about as muscular, but a bit thinner. Kind of a beanstalk. He was brown skinned and wore an open white shirt with a black T-Shirt underneath, with red pants and shoes.

He pumped his arm in the air. "Got'er! And you said I couldn't get a girl."

"Uh, you didn't, my Pokémon did."

"Yeah, but _I_ pointed her out."

It almost seemed like the two were about to start a friendly wrestling match midair. Amira rolled her eyes.

"Idiots!" she screamed up at the two.

"What?" the both responded as if they were two brothers being yelled at by their mother.

"MOVE!"

"Why?" asked the one on the Hydreigon.

"Because-"

"SWIIIIIINE!" A bright orange beam of energy launched from in between Mamoswine's tusks and hit the Hydreigon jockey dead on.

The Dragon-Type took pretty much the entire shot but the boy was still knocked off.

Veronica noticed that Will's arm had stopped mid-throw, Pokéball still in it. "Now! Do it now!"

"Huh?" Will had been caught up in the action. "Oh, yeah! Cell, I choose you!"

The stream of light that poured from the Pokéball pooled right where the boy would've fallen, but instead landed in the liquid arms of Will's Reuniclus. He was greeted by a warm smile from the Pokémon.

"Oh, uh…thanks…"he said awkwardly. You would react that way two if being cradled in the arms of a cerebral Pokémon encased in questionable green liquid.

The other boy hovered over him on his Flygon's back. "Harvey, you alright?"

Harvey gave a thumbs up and was let down by Cell. "Great, Marco. Just fantastic. Thanks for the heads up, by the way."

Marco winked. He made a gun shape with his hands and clicked his teeth, then flew away to rejoin the battle.

Veronica looked to Will. "I thought Cell was out cold?"

Will beamed and struck a heroic pose. "Any normal Reuniclus would be. But not mine! Mine's a-"

"Do not say Super Reuniclus."

"I wasn't gonna!" Will rolled his eyes. "I was _going _to say that Cell is a part of the one percent of his species that has the special ability Regenerator. Over time he can heal himself. Pretty cool, huh?"

Up in the air, still being held onto by Skarmory, Gabby snickered. "So, in other words, your Reuniclus is in the _top percentage _of Reuniclus?"

Everyone's expressions grew dour and un-entertained. Soren sighed. "Yeah, you can just go straight to the Distortion World for that one."

Gabby stuck her tongue out at Soren, but flinched and began to thrash once the Mamoswine remembered she was still there.

"PutmedownputmedownPUTMEDOWN!"

She continued to flail her arms and legs. Soren sighed and raised her arm. On it clung a Larvesta, which unleashed a Flamethrower at the Mamoswine. The stream of fire struck it in the thigh, causing it to rear up on its hind legs.

Unfortunately, the tip of its piercing tusk just manage to jab Gabby in the behind. "YOWCH!" she cried, and the Skarmory dropped her on her already injured backside.

"Now!? NOW you drop me!?"

Enough damage had been done to the Mamoswine to let it know that its time had come. It was going down, and it figured that it might as well take Gabby with it.

Rainbow shrieked at the violent scenario and grabbed Tony's arm. "Tony, do something!"

After getting no response she looked up at his face and found it bearing on Soren's Larvesta passionately.

"Wow! That Larvesta is so awesome! I've never seen one in person! I hear they're really rare and-"

Harvey cleared his throat.

"Oh, yeah, um…I don't know what to do!" the blonde stressed, "I'm all out of usable Pokémon!"

"Cell, get in there!" commanded Will, but he knew Cell would never get there in time. At this point, the command was little more than a fruitless gesture.

Gabby closed her eyes and shrieked for what she assumed would be the last time. She did not, however, count on the Dragonite barreling full on into the Mamoswine, thus sending it sliding across the field on its side.

"Haha!" Faye cried triumphantly, hopping onto her Dragonite and posing heroically using Dragonite's antennae to hang on its back like a swashbuckler. "Faye saves the day agai-"

"GET OVER HERE, FAYE!" Roxanne tackled the taller girl to the ground and the two wrestled in the dust. Roy, the Dragonite, scratched his head as he watched the two girls (well, it was really just Roxanne throttling Faye) fight.

Sneering, Gabby hopped to her feet and skipped over to the crumpled form of Mamoswine. "Not so tough now, are ya big guy?"

She tapped it with her foot and it jerked. Gabby yelped and fell back down.

A winded Liara arrived at the scene of the great battle, adjusting her glasses. She saw Faye and Roxanne rolling around in the dust and shook her head.

"So childish. The Ariados is gone, you two. Can't we just-"

A shadow fell over Liara, who screamed like a little girl as the Ariados descended over her. Lexus the Drapion intercepted it for the second time, the force knocking it out this time around.

Liara puffed and straightened her glasses. "Thank you."

"No prob!" said Rosalie.

"Aw!" sighed a deflated Mako. "I wanted to save the day at the last second! No fair!" Smokey, her Emboar, patted her on the back.

Hunter wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead. "I think the worst of it is over."

She should've knocked on wood. On the other end of the field, the smoke began to clear quite dramatically, revealing the Pokémon that stood on the other end.

It was reddish-orange with brown spots and a metal head. It slammed a three toed foot on the ground.

Everyone spun towards Hunter, who threw her hands up into the air in surrender. "It's not me, I swear!"

The Heatran roared, lava visibly welling up in its throat. All students present began to back together in a small clump.

Their escape was blocked from behind. A Galvantula skittered up onto the bleachers with a Honchkrow fluttering to its left and a Primeape swinging in a tree from its right.

Out of the woods came a party of Pokémon. Same from the field on their other side. Everyone was completely surrounded.

Ellie and Matt came bursting out of the building and saw it all going down from away. Ellie bit her lip and swore. "We're too late!"

Heatran smiled, its mouth a flickering caldera of heat and death. He took a deep breath and exhaled the Lava Plume.

Smokey and Cell shot forth, spreading their arms wide and absorbing the attack as a means to protect the Trainers. The already injured Cell was taken completely down. Even Smokey, a Fire-Type, faltered after the powerful attack.

Without warning Heatran leapt up and came down right in front of the Trainer. The impact shook Will and Mako off of their feet.

Both struggled to get up, but Heatran put a stop to that. Both forelegs slammed down. Will managed to roll just in time to avoid being squashed, but Mako wasn't so lucky.

The olive skinned girl grimaced and grunted as she was crushed by the force of the impact. Will's eyes blazed as he watched his childhood friend suffer. No longer.

Will raised a leg and kicked Heatran in the face with every words. "Get-off-of-her-NOW!"

On "now" Heatran bucked as one of his teeth snapped, leaving a spikey stub. The pointed top half stuck into the ground like a dagger.

Heatran stumbled back and licked his chops, feeling the stubby tooth. He narrowed his eyes and hissed. Heatran adult teeth didn't grow back.

Amira and Rainbow helped Mako to her feet as Tony and Harvey helped Will to his.

Marco gulped. "I think you made it mad?"

"Why else would they be attacking!?" hissed Amira

Gabby sighed. "Guys, I'd just like you all to know it's been an honor fighting with you all." True to his notion, the Pokémon were beginning to close in, encircling the teens. The fight was over.

"I agree," said Harvey. "It was a time and a half, guys."

Nathan looked frantically down to Hunter, whose knuckles had turned white from clasping her wheelchair. "Hunter, if we're gonna die, I just want you to know-"

A massive stream of green energy streaked from the sky like a warhead, striking Heatran square on the metal plate that was its head. The strike flipped him upside down. His legs flailed in the air for a moment until he manage to flip himself back over.

Both Trainer and Pokémon shielded their eyes and stepped back as a massive whirlwind was kicked up. Descending from the sky was Headmistress Harkin on the back of a massive Aerodactly, at least three times the size of an average one.

The school's director simply looked disapprovingly at the Heatran, shaking her head. The Lava Dome Pokémon let out one last rumbling gurgle from deep in its throat before retreating into the woods, along with the majority of the other Pokémon.

Harkin slid off of her mount and proceeded to the knot of students, arms clasped behind her back. She stoically ignored the smoldering holes, the still blazing fires, and the hordes of unconscious Pokémon.

"My office. Now."

…

Everyone from the original group, save for Mako who was in the nurse's office, found themselves in Harkin's executive office. They found no trouble fitting in the spacious room. The two chairs had gone to Gabby with the sore bottom and Amira with the banged up knee.

Harkin read off the charges like a judge preparing to convict. "Disorderly conduct. Damage to school property. Reckless endangerment, of your lives and the lives of those around you."

She shuffled the stack of papers in her hands. "What I am holding now are your expulsion forms. A simple pen stroke from me could send you all home for good. And before school even started, mind you.

"Needless to say I am mortified at today's events." And then the Distortion World officially froze over. Because Harkin looked up and flashed the ghost of a smile. "But, I am very impressed.

"Your skills saved the lives of many in your student body, as well as prevented further damage to the academy. Had that not been the case, you would be on a bus home right now."

Liara timidly straightened her glasses. The poor girl had been a nervous wreck when they had been called to Harkin's office. Harkin's secretary had to fetch her a paper bag for her hyperventilating.

"H-headmistress? We've taken part in s-several blatant violations of the Code of Conducts, and-"

Roxanne elbowed her. "Not helping…"

"I understand you concern for the rules and their sanctity, Ms. Song, but I find that you have exemplified what this school stands for: greatness. Standing above all else. Had this been a test, I am not sure you would have passed, but expelling you would be a grievous act of hypocrisy. I cannot claim to accept and create only the best if I send several such students away for one mistake."

Harkin's fiery eyes engraved her point on the minds of all present bodies. "But that is just my point. The best _do not _make mistakes. The escape of the school's Pokémon is being investigated, but it is clear that you were all simply responders to the threat. It wasn't your fault."

Faye shifted nervously in position.

"You may go," Harkin concluded, "But keep in mind that you will be watched. The next mistake that is made by you and you alone will be your last. Understood?"

"Yes, Headmistress," everyone chorused. She nodded.

"Good. You are dismissed."

Everyone began to file out, eager to leave the devil's den. Claiming you didn't shudder when passing the two busts of Harkin's head when exiting would've been an obvious lie: their eyes were equally as intimidating as the original.

Rosalie broke the awkward silence as the group shuffled down the hallway. "You know, she's right!"

"That we're the best?" said Marco, tossing his hair.

"No, that we're a good team. We should stick together."

Gabby nodded. "Speaking of 'sticking,' I'm sweaty! I'm gonna go take a dip in the pool!"

The bubbly blonde skipped off in the direction of the academy's swimming pool.

"Tch," said Amira, "That barely makes any…know what, I don't even care. I'm gonna go too. Lemmie know if you put together this little alliance or whatever."

Will prepared to respond, but found Emil poking him in the chest and starting him down.

"Listen, Grey. If you _ever_ threaten my career like that again, I _will _end you." He spun on his heels and proceeded down the hallway. The ever uncaring Soren rolled his eyes and followed, not wanting to stick around.

Everyone began to go their separate ways, with Tony ending up deciding to proceed back with his roommate. He found Will standing where he had been when Emil had called him out, scratching his chin.

"Don't let him bother you, dude. He's just-"

"No, no not him. Something someone else said." His eyes drifted up to the ceiling with a creative spark. "Alliance, eh…?"

* * *

**The Pokemon rampage has ended with all of our lovable OCs off the hook, and Will gaining several new rivals as well as an idea. What could it be?**

**Only one more chapter till classes start! Cya next time!**


	6. Chapter 6: From Annoyance to Alliance

**Today's new OCs belong to pokekid543 and Altomere. Thanks guys!**

* * *

"Once again, Headmistress, I'd like to thank you for your lenience."

About half an hour after our heroes' brush with expulsion, Liara still found herself in Harkin's office, firing gratuitous remarks at the woman over and over again.

There were only three beings in the room now: Harkin, Liara, and Harkin's Aerodactly, Atticus. Atticus currently rest in a massive pile of dinosaur before the now roaring fire.

"Ms. Song, I believe it to be a griseous waste of resources and potential talent to have expelled most of those students," replied Harkin, scribbling away at paperwork with an expensive pen.

Liara smiled and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. She had since wiped the snot and dried tears from her face, though her eyes were still a bit puffy and her hair in disarray.

"I thank you for referring to me in such a light," she thanked again with a slight bow.

Harkin looked up from her paperwork, the ghost of a smile forming. "I do recognize your genius, Ms. Song, but there are yet others. Ms. Rose's drive to become a Gym Leader has driven her far from the poverty she once called home. While her sister hoards the limelight, Ms. Sachman manages to shine through with her battling skills. And Mr. Caster's 'ambition' is not simply an empty gesture. If feel great thing coming from this bunch.

"However, the weight some carry from external relations seems to add an air of arrogance to some. Mr. Mar-excuse me, Miller's mother happens to be a benefactor to our school, which would give him a sense of free reign. That is, if he was aware…and Mr. Grey carries a number of genetic assumptions. The intelligence of his father, the daring of his sister, and the arrogant sense of invincibility of his aunt."

Liara scratched her chin. "Hm. Will did take a few risks, but I wouldn't call him 'arrogant'. And I doubt he fancies himself invincible."

"Quite," said Harking with a slight nod, "Though Tessa Kard sees herself as the greatest thing to grave military since gunpowder."

At this point of staying in Harkin's office for so long, even Liara was beginning to feel awkward. As Harking focused back on her paperwork, the overachiever's eyes wandered.

What caught her eye was a black and white picture atop the mantelpiece. In fact, it was the only object occupying said space.

Liara turned fully to examine it. In it were three people outside what appeared to be an ancient edifice. Several rock pillars shot up from the ground around them.

The first figure was quite obviously Harkin: the woman had not changed much since the expedition save for an increase in height. Behind her were two other people, a man and a woman. Their features were similar, such as their height, facial features, and hair. Due to the photo being colorless, their eye color was indeterminable.

"That picture was taken long ago, back in the sixties, I believe," said Harkin, startling Liara.

"I didn't know you used to be an archaeologist," Liara said trying to cover up her embarrassment.

Harking grinned and folded her hands. "Not as much an archaeologist as an enthusiast, but I was quite learned in the subjects. That photo was taken before an expedition into ruins found on Route 223. The man and woman standing behind me were Adam and Abigail Burch. Twin brother and sister. They were dear friends."

"Fascinating. Did you find anything inside?"

"In the way of new information: nothing we didn't already know. And unfortunately, no riches or treasures."

Harking sighed and her face sagged. "Even more unfortunately was the fact that the only thing we _did _find within those walls were booby traps, which claimed the lives of the Burch twins."

"Oh," said Liara, looking down at her feet. "I'm so sorry."

"Yes. As I said, they were very dear friends, and their lives didn't deserve to be sacrificed for nothing but a few stones I took home for a souvenir. Though my pack was full, I walked out onto that beach feeling quite empty."

Liara's heart fluttered. While some people called Headmistress Harkin an emotionless hag, Liara had seen what she interpreted to be the light within.

She had shown mercy when the others had broken the rules, and now revealed a deep longing for her friends. Perhaps the Headmistress was simply misunderstood.

Liara bowed. "One last time, I must thank you, Headmistress."

"And I you, Miss Song. Not many chose to visit me these days. I am very busy most of the time, yet my free time seems to fall on periods that I am forced to dedicate to solitude."

Although Liara's internal compass had just deemed Harkin alright, the smile she gave sent shivers down her spine like nothing else.

"Will you be attending the orientation dance, Miss Song?"

"Huh?" Liara snapped back to reality. "Oh, uh…I don't think so. I just end up alone at those things…"

"Well, if you do decide to attend and feel isolated, feel free to strike up a conversation with me."

Even Liara felt a bit of an "as if" on this inside. She had to admit to being somewhat attention starved at times, but not as much to drive her to hang out with the principal at a school dance.

_On the subject, I'm not sure anyone's gonna be able to _dance _at the school dance with Harkin around…_

Liara rocked back and forth on her heels. "Well, erm…if that is all, Headmistress, then I'll see myself out. Have a good rest of the day."

"Same to you, Ms. Song," said Harkin, returning her focus back to the paperwork before her and swapping her current pen for another.

This time when she exited, Liara made sure to look up when she faced the door, else she'd have to face Harkin's gaze times two when locking eyes with the two busts of her head flanking the door.

Liara opened the massive oak door and proceeded out into the main corridor. She turned around at the sound of bodies being lifted up from their seats.

"You…waited for me?" Liara asked the three girls. Two she recognized as Faye and Gabby. The third she did not know.

She was short and a bit on the chubby side, with dark brown skin and brown eyes behind her square glasses. Her silky black hair was tied up in a ponytail, most of which was pooled in the hood of her grey hoodie. It was a novelty shirt that read, "Mephobia: Fear of being so awesome that the human race can't handle it and everyone dies." She also wore a pair of jeans, blue sneakers and a pair of Crobat-print headphones around her neck.

"Grace Grant," she introduced herself as, extending a hand. Liara tentatively shook it and swapped titles.

Gabby shrugged. "We waited for ya cuz, well, anyone with the guts to _willingly _go into the Luxray's den's gotta be something special.

"Humph. I assure you I am indeed _something special_, but not for the sole reason that I extended the common courtesy of thanking Headmistress Harkin for pardoning us," Liara put plainly. Grace cleared her throat.

"Well…I was hoping you could help me with something. My laptop broke and word around the water fountain is that you're pretty tech savvy? You up for the challenge?"

Liara scowled. "I am insulted. Show me this laptop and I will show you its doom!"

The other three girls sweatdropped for a moment at Liara's aggressive tangent. She came down from her high and giggled. "Erm…sure, I'll help you."

"You sure you two don't wanna check out the pool first?" asked Gabby, making swimming motions with her arms and nudging Liara with her elbows. "I'm betting you look darn good in a swimsuit, Liara."

Liara shivered as she lucidly recalled an event she (and the several thousand others who had seen the video on the internet) avidly referred to as the "Salt and Pepper Incident." The taller girl gulped.

"M-maybe later. C-c'mon Grace!" Liara looped her arm hastily under Grace's and pulled her down the hallway with no intention to take her time.

"W-wait! We're going the wrong way!"

…

"And _that _is how I lost my doctor's license!" explained the pinked haired woman gleefully to the student sitting on the stool behind her, now slightly frightened.

The woman's name was Melody Joy, fired Nurse Joy, dishonorably discharged combat medic, and "widely referred to as" mad scientist.

Eterna Academy's school nurse had the Nurse Joy face and the Nurse Joy look, except for the green stripe going down the front of her messy locks, and the fact that instead of the normal Nurse's uniform she wore w shite tank top, tattered jeans and flip flops.

The girl, a pale, athletic strawberry blonde with grey-blue eyes and freckles gulped. "That was a, erm, very interestin' story," she said in her southern drawl.

"That was _nothing _compared to that time I was trapped in that Separatist POW camp. Did I tell you that one?"

The girl, Arianna Ross, shivered. "N-no…" _And I ain't to sure I wanna hear it…_

"Oh. Well, that gives us something to do while I was for my pizza rolls," said Melody, checking on the microwave oven she had plugged in to the same outlet as a number of life support machines. She shut the cabinet full of medical supplies that she had been organizing and moved onto the next.

"Okay, so I took a frag grenade to the leg, right? So this squeamish soldier sees it, and I mean it was like hamburger meat attached to a bone, so he sees it and her drops his weapon right on the ground and hurls all over the place!"

Ari shivered. The only thing keeping her here was the fact that she was studying to be a medical professional and had assumed that getting in with the school nurse would be a good idea.

She was now getting the notions that the elderly janitor she had passed on the way here could teach her a thing or two more than Melody Joy. After all, don't old people claim to know everything?

Ari heard a groan and swiveled around in her stool. In the middle of three hospital beds lie Mako Jace, the first patient of the year. In some sort of schoolyard scuffle the girl had suffered several cracked ribs and a concussion.

As if right on cue, a tall and skinny boy walked in, being the first thing Mako saw as she woke up. She cracked a weak grin and winced as she tried to sit up.

"Hey kid. How ya holdin' up?" asked the boy, tossing her a marshmallow chocolate bar. Her favorite kind.

"Thanks Will," she groaned weakly and failed to catch the candy, which landed next to her leg on the bed.

Will sat down in the cushioned chair next to Mako's bed. "Faye is a master thief, I'll have you know. She's already undergone several covert ops into the kitchen and even discovered a secret shortcut between the boys' and girls' dorm areas."

Mako chuckled. "The lovebirds are gonna get a kick once the find that out…"

"Faye said she's gonna charge em for the intel. You know what; I take back the 'thief' remark. That girl is a pirate!"

The two shared a laugh, which Ari interrupted. "Uh, no candy allowed here. Sorry."

Startled, Melody swiveled around, mouth filled with Snowcaps. She quickly dumped the rest into a container filled with cotton balls.

"Yeah!" she slurred with her mouth still full. "What she shed…"

Ari rolled her eyes. _I get the distinct feelin' that I'm gonna be in here quite often makin' sure folks don't die…_

"So, what's she in for, doc?" asked Will. Melody checked her charts.

"Let's see...organize closet, throw away dead flowers, shave legs…" Ari tapped the clipboard. Melody flipped the paper and grinned jubilantly.

"Whoops! My bad! That was my 'To-Do' list. She has a few cracked ribs and a minor concussion. She'll be free to go just as soon as we get her all wrapped up."

Will smiled when he heard that his friend would soon be able to leave. Mako smiled as well, but her expression soon drooped.

"What is it, Will?"

"Huh?"

"I said what is it?" she growled sarcastically, crossing her arms. Mako pointed a finger at Will's face, making him twitch. She spun it around in a circle. "I know that look, Grey. You have an idea. A stupid one."

Will grinned and patted her on the head, standing up. "Just for that remark, you get to hear it last." He then began to leave.

"Now that's just cruel!"

"Listen to the doctors and take your medicine like a good little girl, Mako," Will called back as he left the nurse's office. Mako sat back in her bed, arms crossed and pouting. Ari could've sworn she used the words "shove", "fishhook", and "nostrils" in her grumbled sentence.

Ari leapt from her seat, nearly shattering her kneecaps on the nearest bed. A harsh, shrill beep screeched through the room.

"Her readins' are goin' critical!" she shrieked, running over to Mako's IV hookup to check. Melody looked alarmed at first, but then sat back in her seat and relaxed.

"Why aren't you comin'?" Ari cried over her shoulder. Melody rolled her eyes and reached across the counter, opening the microwave oven and removing the plate of pizza rolls.

She popped one into her mouth. "Relax, it's just the pizza rolls. Want one?"

…

"So then, I grabbed the Heatran by its head and _flung it _all the way to freakin' Canalave City," Ben explained to the two girls he had his arms around in the Jacuzzi. All the way on the other end, Harvey and Marco watched in awe as the two ladies totally bought it.

Harvey rolled his eyes and shifted to a more comfortable position. "This guy is a jerk…"

"Are you kidding me!? This guy is a _legend_!" mewed Marco, eyes glimmering. "Imagine all the infinite wisdom he could pass to me…"

"Wow, did you get burned?" asked one of them, a blonde sophomore. Ben flashed her a grin of his white teeth.

"No way, sweetheart. I was way too cool."

The other one, a dark skinned junior giggled. "Did you lift it easily?"

"Just as easily as I could lift you, baby."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you calling me fat?"

Harvey snickered to himself. _Well what do you know? Entertainment in the hot tub. This place _does _have_ _everything_. The Flying-Type Trainer sat back to watch the fireworks.

Ben gulped. "Er, no, I meant-"

The girl splashed scalding hot water in his face and stormed out of the Jacuzzi. Ben let out a scream and clutched his eyes.

Blinking rapidly, Ben tried to keep cool in the face of the remaining girl. Eyes red from pain, he grinned again. Thought the effect was…significantly diminished.

"That's alright…I like it when they play hard to get."

The blonde rolled her eyes and exited the hot tub as well. Ben reached out a hand and opened his mouth to say something to stop her, but he simply gave up and sagged down into the Jacuzzi until it was at nose level.

With a condescending grin, Harvey looked to Marco. "Now, did you take notes on that, or-"

Marco splashed the older boy.

The Eterna Academy pool area was a large indoor area. It was a balmy 82 degrees Fahrenheit year round, making it a perfectly viable option to swim regardless of temperature. The ceiling was made up entirely of glass, which let the sun in and retained heat.

In the center was a large, rectangular swimming pool that could potentially encompass a quarter of the student body. It was ringed with ladders and diving boards. The two Jacuzzis were tucked in each of the back corners. The entire complex was dotted with lawn chairs and circular tables.

At one such table sat Hunter, Nathan, Veronica, Tony, and Rosalie (whom the group had taken to abbreviating as Roz to avoid confusion with the other one).

But they were surrounded by enemies. On two beach chairs sat Rosalee Render and Marlena Sachman. Both were in their swimsuits, though Marlena was a bit more relaxed than Rosalee at the moment. She was lounging in the chair, taking advantage of the sunlight to get a tan, while Rosalee glared at the group, arms crossed.

"I can't stand them…" she growled. Marlena grinned at the sound of the younger girl's grievances.

"Relax. Just let my half-sister and her little friends have their playtime." She grinned as a thought popped into her head. "Is it them you hate, or their association with that flower child. What was her name? Raincloud?"

"Rainbow…perhaps though, half and half. They're a bunch of circus freaks, the lot of them. If they think they can show any of us competent Trainers up, they've got another thing coming."

"Why bring this up all of a sudden."

"Because after we got called into Harkin's office, I heard the tall one…Winston or whatever…talking about some 'alliance' or something. Alone, they're nothing. Together, they're an annoyance."

Marlena chuckled. _So full of energy…I remember when I was a freshman._

"Relax, hon, they'll get what's coming to them." Marlena reached down into her purse and produced a bottle of lotion. "Now could you be a dear and get my back?"

Leaned up against the wall near the back exit was Emil, glaring at Hunter as she talked and laughed about their battle. _His _battle. The one he would've won if it hadn't been for those accursed Pokémon.

And now he wouldn't be able to prove his point. She'd just retort with some pathetic remark and he'd be the fool. Heck, she had even gone as far to claim she had won!

Emil ground his teeth together. "I'll show her…"

Christian Moss was sitting near him in a beach chair, strumming his guitar gently. This guy's pessimistic under-his-breath ranting was starting to get annoying.

"Geez, buddy, what's your deal?"

Emil's nostrils flared. "_Excuse me!?_"

"Either shut up or take it somewhere else," Christian said blandly, not even making eye contact.

_Congrats buddy, _Emil mused inside of his head. _You're next on my list after I take care of Hotwheels over there…_

The loud KA-CHUNK noise of the door shutting echoed through the room as all sounds did. Will made his way into the pool area, and scanned it for friendly faces.

Veronica noticed him walk in and waved him down. Will noticed her and made his way over to the table, earning a few angry glares from Rosalee, Emil, and Christian due to his choice of seating arrangements.

Everyone greeted Will as he pulled up a chair and sat down. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a pencil. He began to tap it on the table in between his fingers.

"So…" he asked, pursing his lips. "Ideas?"

Puzzled, everyone exchanged glances. "For what?" asked Roz.

"For our alliance. Like, ideas."

"Uh, Will. We aren't all exactly on the same page as you here. Explain," said Veronica.

"Well, Harkin said we work best together…"

"Wasn't exactly in compliment form…" grumbled Hunter.

Will glared her down. "Be that as it may…she was right. We all have big dreams. I wanna be the Unova Champion. Ronnie wants to be a Pokéathlete. Tony wants to be a…a…ecomatolo-

"Entomologist."

"Right. That one. Anyway, Hunter wants to be a Top Coordinator. Nathan wants to be a Dragon Master-

Hunter tapped her knuckles on the table. "Excuse me, um…is that a thing?"

"Eh, Dragon _Buster _apparently is, so why not?" said Will with a shrug. Nathan stuck his tongue out.

Will cleared his throat. "As I was saying before you all graciously interrupted me with your own little tirades, we need to work together to get where we wanna be. To make sure we get there in one piece. To keep us grounded, and give us a swift kick in the pants if we need it."

"You're the one with the idea here, pal," said Veronica.

"My point is, we need a cooperative. An _alliance_! Alone we're good, but united…think of what we could do."

"Does this count as a sorority?" asked Roz. Will scratched his chin.

"Uh…I guess…"

"Yay! I've always wanted to be in one of those! Do we have to do some sort of weird initiation."

"I don't-can we just worry about that later!" Will pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. _Perhaps we can get this train a-rollin before school starts…and ends._

"So…ideas for a name?"

"Team Nathan!" said Nathan, smiling and thrusting his fist into the air. Everyone else shook their heads.

"Web of Awesome!" suggested Tony. Veronica waved her hand side to side in a "Good, but not good enough" gesture.

"Super Mega Awesome Titan Squad Force!" suggested Gabby, leaning over Will's chair.

"Nah, I think-" He did a double take. "Wait, where did you even come from!?"

Gabby grinned sheepishly and gave a peace sign, back flipping back into the pool.

Nathan pointed in her direction, nervously looking from the group back to her several times. "We're not inviting her, are we?"

Will, Veronica, and Roz chuckled. Tony stroked his chin. "That is a valid point, though. Who are we gonna invite?"

"We could brainstorm a list?" suggested Hunter. Will nodded and laid his pencil flat in his hand.

"Good idea. Anyone have any paper?"

Everyone checked their bags to search for paper, but came up empty handed. As Nathan leaned back up from checking his bag under his seat, he noticed a notebook on the table.

As he reached for it, Gabby (out of nowhere) smacked his wrist and snatched the notebook. She stuck her tongue out at Nathan.

"Hey, that's my Spy Journal! Spy stuff only!" She tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked away.

Nathan was struggling to get words out. "H-how…STOP DOING THAT!"

Gabby stuck the notebook into her bag and put on a cheeky grin. She then ran to the nearest diving board, yelled, "Avast!" and dove into the pool. Amira, who had been lounging on a pool float, was utterly soaked. She growled.

"Why did you let her hear the 'pirate' remark?" moaned Veronica. Will folded his hands and began to whistle innocently.

Back at the other end of the room, Emil finally caught on to what they were up to and began making his way over to tell them off.

Unknown to him, Rosalee had the same idea.

Hunter noticed Emil's approach and scoffed. "Don't look now, but here comes Captain Ambition himself."

Roz had the adverse reaction to seeing Rosalee. The younger girl beamed and waved to Rosalee, beckoning her closer.

"Hey guys, look, it's my sister's roommate!"

"You losers starting a little club?" asked Emil, crossing his arms and scowling.

Will smiled sardonically and reclined in the chair, putting his feet up on the table. "Yeah. You want in, Emily?"

Emil's nostrils flared and his teeth clenched. "It's _Emil_! And I'd sooner join a gardening club that your stupid little playgroup.

"Actually, I heard Rainbow was starting one up," said Tony informatively.

A sadistic bark of laughter came from behind Veronica. Up came Rosalee. "I should leave so I don't dirty up the pool. Just mentioning Flower Girl's name makes me sick."

Hunter smiled and tugged at the color of her shirt. "Het guys, is it getting hot in here or is it just their combined egos?"

Rosalee smirked and flicked a lock of brunette hair over her shoulder. "Funny. I'll remember that when your little Trainer's alliance is begging me to join."

"The Trainers' Alliance bows to no one," growled Veronica, clenching a fist on the table.

"Actually, that's kinda catchy…" said Will. Veronica rolled her eyes at him, to which he responded by lifting his hands.

"What!? I'm just saying."

"I kinda like it…" grumbled Tony.

"And don't even go as far as to assume this little club is going to even leave the ground," said Emil to Rosalee, starting his own private conversation to imply to the others that he was above them. "Their best Trainer thinks she's _a pirate_."

Will stood up, his chair scraping against the pavement. "Hey, first of all, Gabby is more pirate than you'll ever be. Second, we haven't even formed the team yet. We don't know who our best is."

The two stared each other down for a moment, until Roz broke the silence.

"A-actually, isn't Tony technically our best?"

"Huh?"

"She's got a point," said Hunter. "If we take it by wins and losses, Tony is the only one with a win. So that puts him on top."

She tapped her cheek. "And actually, that would mean you're on the bottom since you're the only one with a loss."

"Yeah…w-well your battle ended in a draw! That counts as a loss!"

"And for a win. Which means she's still ahead of you."

Will growled and plopped back down in his seat. "We…still…don't…know…yet!"

Emil had had enough. He wasn't getting through to these childish morons that he was the better Trainer, and weaklings teaming up with weaklings would just make one big weakling. They were simply too dense to get this.

Turning on his heel, Emil stomped away. Rosalee followed him.

"So, that's that. The losers are founding their own little team."

"Yup," growled Emil, paying her no mind.

"You gonna do somethin' about it?"

"You bet I am. They're forming a faction. So we fight fire with fire." Rage taking control, Emil grabbed a Pokéball resting on a small table next to the chair of a sleeping student.

"In the meantime…" He chucked it into the pool, and out popped a Gyarados.

…

Humming a delightful little tune, Rainbow patted the soil in a small gardening box firm. She had been arranging several such boxes for the first project of her new gardening club, which she had gotten permission to form from the groundskeeper.

While a plot of land was being prepared for her club's use, Rainbow was filling these flower boxes to be placed on windowsills around the academy with her club members.

Which, at the moment, was no one. But Rainbow didn't mind. She always enjoyed gardening, although doing it with others always made it more fun.

She had an idea of the people she'd ask. Well…to be honest, she'd ask anyone and everyone.

But Tony came to mind faster than anyone. Tony had been very nice to her…almost…

Rainbow jolted when she realized she was unconsciously dumping soil onto the ground in a pile. She brushed her dirtied gloves on her weathered gardening pants and reached back to take a bite out of her organic poppy seed muffin.

Her hand grabbed at the air and came up, well, empty handed. Rainbow looked down near her right hip to see the muffin sitting there on a napkin, though the entire op half was missing?

"Huh?" Rainbow said aloud, before shrugging it off and returning to her gardening. She jolted again when she heard the sound of tiny jaws chomping on the soft muffin.

Turning around once more she saw the perpetrator: a small hedgehog Pokémon with green, grasslike fur on her back and a pink flower behind her left ear.

Rainbow had never seen anything like it. Smiling warmly, she picked off a piece of the muffin. The Pokémon, her tiny snout covered in crumbs, shivered and backed up.

"No, no," said Rainbow, holding out the chunk of muffin. "I was going to offer you some. Would you like it?"

She sniffed the muffin, and then began to nibble small bites out of Rainbow's hand. The girl slowly reached over and began to pet the Pokémon.

She shivered and stopped eating for a moment, but then got used to it and let Rainbow stroke her fur as she ate.

"You seem nice. Would you like to join my club?"

The Pokémon looked up at the beaming, friendly human. Before she could do anything, however, her fur waved like grass in the breeze. She shrieked and jolted into the field, her natural camo making it hard for Rainbow to make her out from the flora.

_Huh, _she said, returning to her gardening, _Something must've spooked her…_

* * *

**Eterna Academy's first student faction has emerged: the Trainers' Alliance! What's more, in an attempt to outshine its initial members, Emil (as well as sending out a crazed Gyarados) reveals plans to form one himself. Will war break out between the student body?**

**And on the faction subject, I want your opinions. Who should join what side? You can speak your mind about your own OC, but please don't pester me about where your own goes. I want honest opinions on any and all OCs that have been revealed. If they have yet to appear in the story, please do not ask about them. I promise pretty much all of the remaining OCs will come very soon.**

**Speaking of, I know I said classes would start next chapter, but...I didn't plan enough space for orientation and the school dance, so they'll be after one more chapter at the least. KK?**

**And if you have a little extra time on your hands and wanna check out another fic, especially one where you can submit your own OCs, why not try A Random Human's(the creator of Amira Rose) "Mystery Dungeons of Sunfall and Moonrise?" It just started, and OCs are needed! Check it out!**

**So, Harkin and Liara had a...more than odd conversation, the school's questionably qualified nurse has been introduced, Ben gets shot down, the Alliance Rises (and due to the "accidental" appearance of a Gyarados in the pool may soon fall) and Rainbow finds a new friend. What trouble will our heroes get into next? Find out class on Eterna Academy!**


	7. Chapter 7: Thursday

**Today we'll have an OC from PokeRus! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: TrainerNaps does not own Pokemon. Or Snowcaps. Or Halo.**

Everyone shot from their chairs and faced the serpent emerging from the pool. All of the swimmers began to clamber desperately to get out.

Amira pulled down her sunglasses to get a glimpse of the best. She simply groaned. "Five minutes, that's all I ask…"

The hands of everyone at the Alliance table flew instinctively to their hips, and were rewarded with nothing but a handful of air.

"Darn it! My Pokémon are being checked in by the administration!" shouted Will.

"Mine too!" yelled Veronica, somewhat of a panic beginning to set in.

Luckily, the Gyarados only seemed to have one focus, which allowed all of the other students to escape.

Unluckily, it was the Alliance leadership. The six teens, nothing else to do, slowly began to back up against the wall. The Gyarados snarled and moved closer and closer.

"Well, I can honestly say I've never been a part of something for a shorter period of time than this," said Nathan.

Will turned to Tony. "I don't suppose you have a net for this?"

Tony shrugged. "Bug-Types only. Sorry."

Taking in a deep breath, the Atrocious Pokémon leaned back. Whether to attack and lunge they didn't know, but the kids really didn't care. It would've hurt anyone.

Just as it was about to do whatever it was that it was, Gyarados was distracted from behind by a certain blonde haired girl wearing a dark blue one peace was charging at it, brandishing a pool noodle like it was a scimitar.

"KYAAAAAH!" yelled Gabby, leaping into the air with the noodle waving over her head. Gyarados simply swatted her with its tail, repulsing her against the back wall, down from which she fell onto a pile of floats.

Gabby lifted her swaying head briefly before she flopped down face first onto the floats. "Gabby the Pirate…shoving off…mateys…ugh."

"Too bad that wasn't actually a well thought out plan…" growled Hunter.

"Well, at least she tried," sighed Roz, taking off her glasses and defogging them with her shirt. The humidity fogged up the lenses.

"Roz, I don't know about you, but in my humble opinion, a nice gesture won't do me any good in the Afterlife."

"Fair point."

This truly was a very distracting day. Recovering from Gabby's humorous attempt at a surprise attack, Gyarados slithered back out of the pool and once again back our heroes back against the wall.

It inhaled deeply through its nostril slits and licked its lips. A low gurgle escaped its throat as if to take our last words.

"Eat Roz first, she tastes better!" whimpered Hunter, pulling the smaller girl in front of her wheelchair.

"How would you know that!?"

"Well, anyone with a fashion sense as good as yours must be delicious. That top: _adorable_!"

"Aw, thanks! I got it in this nice little-"

Will was completely and totally baffled at the moment. He reached out and tapped Gyarados on the side. "Forget them. Eat me first. Please. End my misery."

Gyarados' scales shifted as if shrugging. It opened its cavernous mouth and raised its head to small down on Will. When all of a sudden…

"Nate, Razor Leaf!"

"Tweeg!"

Gyarados flinched as if he had been pinched. It flipped around furiously to lock eyes with short boy with messy blue hair and a pair of soft round azure eyes. He wore a short sleeved light blue t-shirt under a navy blue vest that had a horizontal white stripe across the middle and a pair of baggy black cargo pants, and some white sneakers. In front of him was a Turtwig.

"Thanks, pal!" shouted Veronica, giving the kid a thumbs up. "Not many people have the audacity to face down a Gyarados.

The boy smiled, but then looked back into Gyarados' flaming, uncompromising eyes. He gulped.

"A-actually, I'm beginning to think I'm really don't…" He turned and ran full sprint for the door, yelling, "WhatwasIthinkingwhatwasIthinkingwhatwasIthinking! "

Gyarados roared and slithered away from its previous targets, eager for revenge on the boy. He may have even gotten away if it hadn't been for the puddle he slipped in.

He twisted midair and landed on his backside, facing his attacker. He screamed and covered his face as Gyarados let out a bloodthirsty roar and lunged.

The red light of a Pokéball recalling Gyarados shot out, pegging the beast just inches from the young boy's face. It had been so close, he could feel the hot sticky breath of the thing on his face.

Harkin looked at the Pokémon quite blasé. Without a word or even eye contact she tossed it back to its Trainer, who scrambled away, eager to escape before the blame was shifted.

Luckily, Harkin had very probable indication to whom the culprits were. Marlena, Rosalee and Emil were all bursting with laughter.

Since they did not see her coming Harkin tapped Rosalee on the shoulder. Still laughing, she turned and nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw the Headmistress. The other followed suit.

"My office. Now."

…

"I'm going to keep this quite short. Rest assured my point should be clearly conveyed by the end of this exchange."

Sitting in the two chairs before Harkin's desk were Rosalee and Marlena, who had each thrown on a robe over their swimsuits. Emil stood behind them.

Rosalee found herself more annoyed than nervous, as this was the second time today she had found herself in Harkin's office, both times for reasons beyond her control. Emil was in an arrogant state of rage, blaming Will and Hunter once again for his misfortunes. Marlena simply did not care, admiring her nails as Harkin spoke.

"Headmistress, I-"

Harkin cleared her throat. "_You_ will not be speaking during this exchange, Mr. Caster. Take my word for it, if none of you breathe a single word this should all go off without a hitch."

The daunting academy administrator tapped her fingertips together and rested her elbows on the top of her desk. "It has come to my attention that this act of violence was a response of sort to the creation of a student faction. A declaration of war.

"Now, each of the students approached to join so far undoubtedly has a very special trait. Something that makes them formidable. But each and every one of them also has a fatal flaw. Something that makes them exploitable. Alone, it would be their dire weakness. But together, a collective can find ways to compensate."

Harkin picked up a stack of papers, tapped them against the table to neaten the stack, and then stapled them together. Smiling grimly, she handed the papers to a puzzled Emil.

Emil flipped through the papers. At the top of each was the picture of a student, their name, age, birthplace, blood type, and other baseline information. At the bottom was more in-depth details: psych profiles, commendations, hobbies, fears.

"These are dossiers," breathed Emil, flipping through the packet. Harkin nodded.

"Before I made the analogy of declaring war. Well, you cannot declare war without an army, can you?"

"Headmistress, I…I don't understand what you're saying."

Harkin leaned forward, her sharp features cutting through Rosalee's comfort zone. The blonde gulped at her proximity to Harkin.

"As it is now, the Alliance stands without any competition. It would be a shame if that were the sole case."

Emil caught her drift: he would form his own faction and take this conflict to the next level.

Now, the Alliance would have to be the strongest to win. Not simply a collection of the weakest.

Marlena smiled at the prospect as well. _It seems I alone won't be able to keep the underclassmen in their place. This union should do nicely for my purposes._

Emil reasoned that the dossiers were of students Harkin handpicked as candidates for his team. In several cases Emil noted their drive, ambition, and sole purpose of being the best. Without the annoying quality of seeking a good time before, during, or after.

Then he reached about halfway through, where the first thing that caught his eye was a red star at the top right corner of the page.

Then Emil looked at the picture and read the name attached: William Henry Grey.

The blond haired boy looked up to speak, but Harkin held up a hand to stop him. "I assume you have reached the first red mark?" He nodded.

"Yes. The Alliance gained a head start by establishing first. I decided to give you a small boost of your own."

Mako Jace. Veronica Peyton. Nathan Grayman. Hunter Fel. It continued on with everyone who had been sitting at that table by the pool, along with several others Emil assumed were people who had since been inducted or were considered.

Emil was about to respond when the doorknob behind them clicked, and the massive oak doors swung open. Alan poked his head in.

"Headmistress? Professor Hickory wishes to see you."

She nodded. "Send her in. It seems that I have another guest, children. I trust the point of our exchange was met?"

"Quite so," said Emil, crossing his legs. "I think that we're very much on the same page."

He looked at Marlena and Rosalee. Marlena smiled. "You had me at 'war'."

Rosalee shrugged and furrowed her eyebrows. "Anything to get back at those losers."

Harkin smiled as they conversed, very impressed by her work. _Good. Exhaust each other with your petty competition_. _Keep the gnats from breathing down my neck._

Waving them away, they passed the tentative form of Agatha Hickory. She glared at the back of Rosalee's head as the girl carelessly bumped into her, and then proceeded to Harkin's desk.

Atticus was not in his usual place curled up by the fire. Instead, he sat on the ornate windowsill behind Harkin's chair. Being as humungous as he was, his head curled around to the right so much that Harkin could reach out and pet him.

Which she did, of course, further setting the usually collected Professor Hickory off edge. She steeled herself. _Show no fear. It can smell fear. The Aerodactly, too._

She didn't sit. Out from under her arm she pulled a stack of papers which she placed gently on Harkin's desk, watching her own hands as if she was afraid the papers would escape. When they had reached their destination, Agatha looked Harkin in her cold eyes.

"I have completed the exorcises you designed for the Hickory Dex," she said, tapping the papers. "Every single result my machine produced, considered, and hypothesized is recorded here."

Harkin slid the papers closer to herself but did not look at them. She simply folded her hands. To her right, Atticus licked his lips.

"Thank you, Professor Hickory. Have you provided the preliminary schematics I requested?"

Agatha nodded. From her tightly clenched left fist she produced a shiny black flash drive. "Everything is on this data drive, Headmistress. I suspect you will be reviewing the technical specifications?"

"Yes. I have a very capable associate who will be reviewing what you have provided me with."

Agatha turned a shade paler, her hands clammy from gripping the data grew sweatier at the thought of losing it. Agatha Hickory was extremely possessive about her creations, if not even more so about their success. The pride Agatha had for her machine was rivaled by near nothing in her life.

If the Hickory-Dex retrieved critical success under a name other than her own, Agatha had no idea to what extremes she'd be driven. Once before the Hickory-Dex had caused her strife, nearly discrediting her name to the point of a new level of disgraceful anonymity. Never again would she allow that to happen.

Harkin smiled. "I see you are worried for the sake of your invention, Professor Hickory."

"I cannot lie, Headmistress. I am very much so." There was no hiding the fact for Agatha that she would probably pitch Harkin out that window if she hinted to the fact of betraying Agatha.

The smaller woman once again noted Atticus, staring her down as if daring her to do it. _Or die trying_, she finished her thought with.

Recognizing the woman's discomfort in regards to handing over her machine, Harkin smiled and folded her hands.

"My dear, I can whole-heartedly assure you that you have nothing to worry about. At the absolute worst, your creation will rest in the _absolute best hands_. On that you have my word."

…

Will rubbed his aching temple. An hour of reasoning with Gabby had gotten him backwards from nowhere. He was close to snapping and baring her from entry to the Alliance altogether.

"Listen, Gabby, I'm gonna ask this _one more time_! This isn't a negotiation. _Do you or do you not want to join!?_"

The blond girl tapped her chin. "Hm. Okay."

Will opened his mouth to respond peacefully, but then Gabby spat, "But only if I get to be Chancellor of Ice Cream!"

Will's face turned bright red, his cheeks puffing out as a preventative measure to keep him from exploding outright. He jumped up from his seat on a couch in the Common Room and jabbed a finger at Gabby. She turned a cheek and smiled, as if daring Will to attack her.

"You know what, I-"

"Hey, relaaaaax!" sighed Rainbow, putting her delicate hands on Will's shoulders. She gently coerced his back down into the seat. Tension somehow left his body on impact. "There's no point in getting mad."

"Of course there's a point! I get to yell at Gabby! It's fun!"

"Amen!" Roxanne called from across the room. She was currently playing a video game with Harvey. Grace was observing the two. It was painful to watch how bad they were.

She leaned over the couch that the two sat on, facing the TV. The current multiplayer match the two partook in was cringe inducing. Grace's hands twitched and gripped as if she was trying to psychically wrench control of the game from them.

"Harvey, aim for her head! It takes her shields down faster!"

"Hey! No giving advice!" complained Roxanne, as she pressed a button resulting in the grenade that ended Harvey's next in-game life.

Harvey growled and lightly smacked Grace's hand away. "See! You distracted me!"

Roxanne grinned. "Suuuure she did."

"Psh, won't happen again."

Now that the two were tied, it became a waiting game more than a series of uncoordinated skirmishes, making Grace bored instead of irritated.

"Roxy, look. He's right in your sights! Snipe him!"

"Which button activates the DMR sights?" asked Roxanne, examining her controller, in which time Harvey was allotted time to pick up a rocket launcher and obliterate Roxanne.

_"Game Over!" _announced the television. Grace groaned and slid to the floor.

"You guys are hopeless…"

Speaking of hopeless…

"You know what, Gabby! You win! In fact, you can be the _president _of ice cream of you want! I don't even care anymore! Y-you…nope, you win!"

Will stormed off, mumbling to himself as he went. He slammed the Common Room door behind him.

Gabby and Rainbow watched him leave. "Anyone notice how he got really bent out of shape after this whole 'Gyarados' debacle?"

"Kinda," said Tony, who had been in earshot. "We went back to our dorm for a while and unpacked some stuff. He was messin' around with his laptop and then he got really weird."

Rainbow bit her lip. "I'm gonna go see what's wrong." She got up and jogged after Will.

So far, aside from the preliminary table dwellers, Faye Crane, Harvey Light, Roxanne Stroud, Marco Torres, Grace Grant, Liara Song, and now Gabby Eastham had been inducted. A few others were considered and had yet to be approached but that was all for now.

Aside, of course, from Amira Rose, who was a bit on the fence. She had come to the Common Room to announce her final decision, but decided to put that off.

Sitting on a coach, all by his lonesome was the boy from before who had ordered his Turtwig to attack the Gyarados. After that he had split, and Amira had desired to speak with him.

The boy looked young, even by Amira's standards. She was a junior, so technically the term "young" would net freshmen and sophomores, but this kid looked to be around twelve.

Amira plopped down next to him. The kid was startled from his DS game.

He shut it and placed it aside. "H-hey."

"Sup, kid," said Amira, putting her feet up on the small table in front of them. "You know, you ran pretty fast once your attack didn't work."

The boy gulped. _Oh no. She's gonna chew me out for abandoning everyone in the pool once Nate's attack failed. And to think I was getting used to my head undented…_

"Y-yeah…listen, I'm-"

Amira flicked up a hand and adjusted her sunglasses. "You've got guts, kid. The fact that your ran because you didn't want that Gyarados to have them for floss doesn't make you any less of a man. I like that."

Coyly, he looked up from his lap. "Really?"

"For sure." Making him very uncomfortable, Amira place an arm around his shoulder to straighten him up. She laughed as he sweatdropped. "I'm just messin' with ya, kid. What's your name?"

"Dante. Dante Masters."

Amira nodded and sat back. "Stick with me, kid. I'll teach ya a thing or two."

…

_WHOCK!_

A grim Will sent another golf ball sailing into the woods. It sailed far over the green grassy fields of the Eterna Academy grounds. A power shot to say the least.

He bent down to replace the tee that he had snapped into tiny pieces with the last swing. Tossing them into the small pile of tee debris, he reached into his pocket to pull out a new one. He then held out his hand, in which Cell place another golf ball. Cell was acting as Will's caddy, his golf bag slung over the Reuniclus' shoulder and a caddy hat atop his head.

Will sighed and took his golfing stance again, waiting a moment to test the wind. Confident it was to his back, Will brought his golf club up.

"Hey, Will!"

The tall boy flinched and only half swung, getting more tee than golf ball. It went flying and bonked the elderly groundskeeper, Arthur, on the head. The bearded geezer shook his fist.

"Lousy kids and their mini golfs! Back in my day it was a respectable sport! Used to get up a three in the morning every Sunday to play with my father! Had to walk nineteen miles to our course, and we didn't even have one! Had to dig new holes every day! Carve the flag poles ourselves! I tell ya it was a simpler time back then…"

Remembering his breathing techniques, Will inhaled and tried his hardest not to snap at Rainbow. It wasn't working.

"What do you want!?" he hissed, retrieving another tee from his pocket and setting it up. "Kinda busy here!"

"Uh…yeah," stuttered Rainbow, maintaining her polite and passive nature. "You seem to be entrenched in…losing golf balls."

Will launched another one into the woods. "So?"

"What's the matter, Will?"

"It's Thursday."

"Huh?"

"I said it's Thursday."

Rainbow swallowed and took a few steps forward. "I'm sorry that I don't understand, but…why is Thursday so important to you, Will?"

Will hesitated before hitting the next ball. Many a time had he gotten like this on many a Thursday, and a lot of times people would just get annoyed with him. Once or twice even Mako did.

But Rainbow sounded like she genuinely did care. She wanted to know and she wanted to help once she found out.

Letting out a sigh, Will looked away from his game. Leaning on his club, he explained.

"Thursday is…it's a special day for my family. My mother and my father met on a Thursday. Their first date was the following week on a Thursday. First kiss. First night together. Proposal. Wedding Day. I and both of my sisters were born on a Thursday.

"One part of coming here that wasn't exactly a seller was that I wouldn't be around come Thursday. My mom and my little sister promised to video chat me at night, since my mother is at work and my little sister is at school. My older sister, Jackie…"

"Hasn't gotten back to you yet?" speculated Rainbow.

"Bingo." Will effortlessly launched another gold ball. The sound of it clonking through the branches of a great tree echoed through the grounds. A flock of startled Starly took off.

Still trying to be delicate, Rainbow probed Will to try and find some dry ground to stand on. "So…you're really good at golf."

"Thanks. You know, my ancestor invented golf."

"No kidding?"

"Yeah. Just messin' with you. But my family has been playing for a long, long time. My dad taught me." Will lowered his head back down to the tee at the mention of his father.

"What's your father like?" Rainbow asked, wondering if this was a wound that she could possibly mend.

Will opened up much quicker than she expected. "Oh, you know. Selfish. Conceited. Work centered. Dead."

Rainbow gasped as Will, unfazed, drove his next golf ball. Rainbow cursed herself for her ignorance.

_Stupid! He didn't mention his father calling him! I should've noticed that! _What she did notice was that Will's composed bravado was starting to fade. His arms were noticeably shaking. His strokes were becoming sloppier.

Without Rainbow trying to save it, he simply continued. "My dad was so absorbed in his work. He was never there for any of my achievements. I couldn't count the amount of Christmases and birthdays he's missed on both hands. He'd stay at work for days, the longest I think clocked in at a week and a half.

"I picked up golf so quickly because I thought if I didn't, I'd lose the only thing we had together. And then he just…up and left. Being gone all the time wasn't enough, so he abandoned us."

Will's entire body was shaking now. She didn't attempt at prying, but Rainbow had a hunch that there were tears.

"I know it's wrong, but I blame him. I blame him for leaving. I hate him sometimes. Every time something goes wrong on a Thursday, it's somehow his fault. The last major thing that happened on a Thursday was his death.

"He left me without a father figure. He left my sister with debt; she had to put off college for several years and work two jobs to pay those bills. And he left my mother with an unborn child. He didn't even stick around to see his daughter's birth!"

Will stabbed the ground with his golf club. He then turned around and proved Rainbow right. There were tears, over the backdrop of a crimson face.

"And so every time someone isn't there on Thursday, I…I…"

"You just can't help but feel like they're leaving you," said Rainbow in a whisper. She approached Will slowly to see if he'd resist. He didn't, so she wrapped him in a hug.

Stroking the back of his head, she whispered, "It'll all be fine. Your sister is a college student, I'm sure she's just busy. And these father issues can all be worked out. If you ever want to talk to me, I'd be glad to."

Rainbow backed up and held Will by the shoulders to make sure he looked into her bright, shining face to behold the sincerity. "You know, my mother always said that gardening is like therapy, except you get free tomatoes."

Harkening back to his old self, Will cracked a smile. "Thanks, but I think I'll stick to golf for now."

He pulled his club out of the ground and set himself up, launching the ball he had previously set on the tee into a small knot in a tree on the perimeter of the grounds.

Rainbow clapped. "That was great! I've always kinda wanted to learn golf…"

"Would you like me to teach you?" asked Will, removing a smaller club from his bag, "It's real simple."

Shrugging, she took the club and stood before the tee. Will instructed her from there.

"Okay, loosen up. Bend your knees and make sure your toes are lined up."

"Like this?"

"Twist a little more to your left…yeah, like that!"

"Now do I hit it?"

"Lemmie just walk you through the stroke. So now you're gonna hold it…okay, yeah, that's good for now. Now, bring it back while keeping your left arm straight and your right close to your body. Twist your hips."

"Is this okay?"

"Hm…Let me show you."

Will stood behind Rainbow, his head over she shoulders and his hands gripping her wrists. "Okay, now like this…"

As he brought her through the motions, their observer above was very pleased. Gabby's dorm window gave her a perfect view of the action. The very out of context action.

Giggling, she scribbled a few more notes in her Spy Journal.

* * *

**Lotta feels in this chapter...well, there were at least a few...**

**So, Emil is forming his own team, with Harkin pitting his and the Alliance against each other from the start. What does she have to gain from this? And what will become of Professor Hickory's prototype schematics? Find out next time!**

**If you're worried about your OC showing up, fret not. Next chapter is orientation. A bunch of kids cooped up in an auditorium? We're bound to meet a few new faces**

**Speaking of OCs, I'm opening up submissions for something specific. Let me make myself perfectly clear: NO STUDENTS OR TEACHERS! Now, this may sound weird at first, but it will make sense soon What I need are business tycoons. Corporate bigwigs. But not just any industrial giants. I need 1%ers with dark secrets. The ones who aren't exactly out donating moeny and kissing babies. Think Lex Luthor. Norman Osborn. The heads of supercompanies and corporations. And if you can, be creative with the company at which they're at the helm (try not to go Silph Co. and Decon crazy). **

**I'm sure this sound weird in regards to OCs, but hey, OCs submissions are fun. A few rules, and then the form. First, no making your new submitted OC have any relations to an OC in this story that ISN'T YOURS! For example, say I submitted William Grey (which I did). I could create...I dunno, a third cousin who is some sort of billionaire corporate king. However, I could not do the same for, say, Amira Rose, who is the property of A Random Human.**

**Second, I cannot guarantee the initial usage of all submitted OCs. They'll all show up down the road, but I'm gonna need to be a tad choosy in the beginning.**

**K, hope you submit and see you next time! P.S., submissions wont last very long, so get em in! Keep in mind that if you've submitted an OC already, this one doesn't HAVE to be related to them if you're submitting at all.**

**Form:**

**Name:**

**Age:**

**Appearance:**

**Personality:**

**Backstory:**

**Company name/description:**

**Family:**

**There you have it! And just to give you a little tease about what this is for: I haven't revealed the villainous team yet, have I? Safe to say you're in for something very different...**


	8. Chapter 8: Ready, Steady, Go!

**Today's chapter will debut OCs from Pokekid543, giggity090, Cottonmouth25, and A Random Human. Those who haven't shown up yet will very soon! I promise!**

* * *

**2 days later…**

The hot August sun was finally beginning to set over the horizon. The sky was becoming more merciful on the workers in the field bellow it with every passing minute. The increasing amount of storm clouds provided some cool shade as well, though were harbingers of a stormy night along with the occasional crack of thunder.

It had been two days since the Pokémon horde had somehow gotten loose from the basement of Eterna Academy and attacked Eterna Academy. Assets had been damaged. Injuries ranging from cuts to the near death of Mako Jace had been dished out.

And most of the teachers who were not needed setting up for orientation were still cleaning up the mess.

"It's no fair…"wined Matthew, shoveling dirt into another Rhyperior footprint hole, "How come the students get to have all the fun?"

Ellie scoffed and rolled her eyes, shoveling another shovelful of Muk gunk into a wheelbarrow. "You do realize how childish you sound right now, correct?"

"Pi pika!" concurred her Pikachu, who, along with the other smaller Pokémon, had the task of pulling the quills of a Pin Missile attack gone wrong out of the ground.

"I'm just saying! We didn't even get to battle a single Pokémon! When we signed that contract, didn't it say we'd be charged with protecting the school and everyone in it?"

"You had the perfect opportunity to battle that Zubat," chortled Ellie, "But you were too busy shrieking like a little girl!"

All of the present Pokémon, even Matt's, began barking with laughter. The male teacher found his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Matt sighed. "Now I'm an educator and I'm still being picked on at school…Nic-o-ole!" he whined in a forced tattling voice, "They're making fun of me!"

"You're a bunch of kids, the lot of you," groaned the grumpy Nicole as she straightened up her back. Pain knotted itself in the elfish woman's muscles. Nicole would've gladly taken a stack of paperwork twice her bodyweight in exchange for not doing this plebian work.

Straining her eyes to get a look at the glowing disk sinking past the trees, Nicole reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen. She dropped a dollop on her forearm and rubbed it in.

"Nicole, I'm no math teacher, but if I equated the amount of work your arms have done rubbing in sunscreen, it'd probably be double that which you've done all day," said Matt with a smirk.

Nicole scowled and tossed the bottle back into her purse. "I burn easily! And I'm not cut out for this sort of work!"

"Sorry to disgrace you with our plebian ways…"

"Funny, that's just what I was thinking."

"Well, hello there, slaves!" called a voice far too happy to have been working in the sun for two consecutive days. Indeed the voice did not belong to someone who did such. It belonged to Avery Sullivan.

Avery was a tall man with olive skin and dark brown hair. He had medium length hair, styled messily so that it stuck out in all angles and goes down just a little past his ears. His eyes were a nice teal color, and his body was well defined and toned, albeit a bit slender.

He wore a white short sleeved t-shirt with a honey brown vest that, plaid on the front and solid on the back. The buttons on the vest were gold. His pants are black, and his tennis shoes were red and white.

The dreary and exhausted expressions of the three teachers were met with Avery's warm smile, doubtlessly as big as it was simply for the purpose of messing with them.

"How did you weasel your way out of doing your job like the rest of us?" asked Matt, his mouth twitching in an effort to remain serious and not grin to his friend.

"Well, believe it or not, I was needed in setting up for orientation," Avery said proudly, making a show of brushing off his clothing, not stained with dirt and sweat like everyone else's.

Ellie cocked her head to the side and placed her hands atop her hips. "What was the school Mythology teacher needed for?" she asked morosely.

"Well, I helped move around some stuff. Light boxes, mostly."

"I'm going to kill you," interjected Matt.

Avery winked and continued. "Then I gave a few guests the grand tour. Mostly career specialists. There was this one International Police lady who _really _crept me out. She literally remembers every single detail about the school from when she went here…"Avery shivered like an army of Joltik were swarming over his skin.

"A-a-a-anyway, the boss wanted me to come out here to tell you all that you should shower and get ready for orientation." Avery puckered his face and waved a hand before his nose. "And may I add an extra emphasis on _shower_."

As she walked by, Ellie smacked Avery on the head with her shovel, giving him a mild headache and splattering him with Muk muck.

"Hey! I just washed these clothes!"

"Don't you complain to me!" she snapped back, stabbing a finger at his face. "In the past two days, I've cleaned some weird stuff from some weird places-"

A sudden breeze blew by, and several small objects were dislodged from the roof. Ellie found herself clonked on the head three consecutive times.

Bending over, she picked up and identified the objects.

"HOW DID GOLF BALLS GET ON THE ROOF!?"

…

Once they were all gone, a massive four legged figure skittered out of the woods. Heatran stopped at where the work equipment had been left.

He sniffed at one of the gold balls and snarled. The scent had been acquired.

Heatran turned and skittered back into the woods.

…

"Hey, give it back!" shrieked Liara. Faye and Gabby were tossing her hairpin back and forth as down the hallway. Liara would dash at the person holding it, only to have I thrown all the way to the other person. A very tragic game of Mankey in the Middle.

Gabby was laughing hysterically, so hard in fact that she was doubled over to the point where Liara almost reached her by the time she flung the pin to Faye.

Everyone was now adorned in their school uniforms. For the boys, it was a long sleeve white shirt with a block vest emblazoned with the school crest on the left side of the chest: A Lucario holding a sword. The words "Parat in optimum pessimum" were inscribed at the bottom, which meant "Preparing the best for the worst." They also wore black pants and a pair of black shoes.

For the girls, it was virtually the same, except with a black skirt instead of pants and white stockings.

The knot of students were on their way down to the auditorium for Orientation. They were on the main level, which was one of the redone sections of the manor. The floors and walls were no longer aging wood but white tiled.

Though the same medieval décor was still present at some intervals, though award plaques, portraits and artwork were a bit more prominent.

Sill, Roxanne was not comfortable with Faye and Gabby being around so many sharp objects.

"Why are you two torturing poor Liara?" asked the irritated redhead. Roxanne wasn't particularly standing up for Liara; she was just annoyed by Faye's antics.

Faye lobbed the pin to Gabby. "Liara snores like a chainsaw. I haven't been able to sleep in two days! And let's be honest." Faye winked and dramatically tossed her hair. "Ya don't get this drop dead gorgeous overnight."

"I think I'm gonna drop dead for completely different reasons…"mumbled Roxanne.

"And I think I'm gonna drop _you_, said Will to Mako, who he was cradling bride-style in his arms. Mako had been cleared to leave the infirmary, but needed the aid of a pair of crutches to navigate. The alternative? A ride from anyone who was willing.

There weren't that many takers. Any, to be precise. But Mako eventually managed to wheedle Will into doing it.

Mako smiled complacently and pat Will on the cheek. "You live me too much," she said in a mushy tone, pursing her lips.

Will raised an eyebrow. "Let's see how long it takes for that love to hit the floor."

Mako responded simply by smiling and wrapping her arms around Will's neck.

Behind him, Tony made a sound akin to a meow, and then that of a whip. Marco and Harvey laughed.

"Yeah, keep laughing Tony. Tell me, did you clear this walk down the hallway with Auntie? So many sharp objects on the wall."

The blonde immediately clammed up at the mention of his overprotective parental guardian, whom he had to check in with every night. It was a charming and harmless ritual, really, and Will was fair about it. He had only meant it in a joking manor.

After all, he had been fretting about his sister still not calling him back. But the subject of WillxMako had been one he had been teased about for six year straight.

In fact, he had almost slugged Gabby after she unofficially nicknamed the ship "Wako" at lunch yesterday.

The two had no friends. They bonded. They became friends. Period. Nothing more. He didn't need anyone making it awkward.

Enter Rosalee, Marlena, and the clique they had accumulated over the past few days. A regular pack of huntresses.

And here came their prey into the lobby. The two grand doors stood on one end of the grand corridor, and the smaller double doors on the opposite end leading into the auditorium. Students stood in small groups, milling about and preparing to enter. Adults were also scattered throughout, a mixture of staff, administrators and parents.

Being set up along the lobby's exteriors were booths and tables advertising school clubs, career options, etc. for visitors to mill about and admire what the academy had to offer.

Rosalee giggled smugly, admiring her nails. "Well, if it isn't the Prince and Princess of the Alliance."

The tall boy gritted his teeth. Mako felt his arm muscles clench and tighten.

"She's not my girlfriend," he huffed, "And I'm not the leader. No one is."

"Well, let's not forget that I'm the President of Ice Cream," said Gabby. She had forgotten the fact that she was holding the hair pin outstretched in her hand, from which Liara finally managed to grab it.

"SHADDAP!"

Satisfied in that her role was being nicely fulfilled as an antagonist, antagonizing, Rosalee laughed sweetly and tossed her hair over her shoulder. Pungent arrogance seeped from her being, just as brutal on the senses as her expensive perfume.

"Well, play all your silly little games while you have the chance. You won't be able to for long," sighed Marlena, wrapping up her cohort's work. While she was far older than Rosalee, she seemed to be taking a bit of a backseat role while Rosalee stood up front.

_What's that supposed to mean? _Will thought to himself. He knew Marlena was teasing them, but the phrase seemed a bit cryptic.

In truth, Marlena simply liked to watch the fireworks as the energetic underclassmen tried to carve themselves into their desired positions in the school. Like she and everyone else had learned, it was truly ruled by the upperclassmen.

They'd tire out, and Marlena would step in to show them how it worked. Both sides would've taken such a thrashing that she'd be welcomed with open arms in a leadership role.

In just two short days, Emil and Rosalee's faction, the Combine Elite, had recruited twice what the Alliance had. Marlena had to admit it was due to the preaching of her two little puppets. Emil attracting the ambitious and ruthless, Rosalee taking in the "popular" crowd that didn't want to be associated with the groundlings.

Short and simple, the Combine was her plaything.

"Come, Rosalee. We should go."

"Hey!" growled Will. "That's my thing!"

Marlena turned and laughed condescendingly. Most of her minions followed suit. Rosalee hung back for a second.

"Hey, Flower Girl," she crooned to Rainbow in another attempt to tease her, "See your Garden Ghost lately?"

"No, but I'm still looking!" Rainbow had approached her friends with the tale of a mysterious hedgehog Pokémon with grass on its back, the likes of which none of them had ever seen nor heard of.

It had been insisted that she had simply seen a small rodent Pokémon covered in grass, but Rainbow was insistent (in her polite fashion) that she had borne witness to the Pokémon's existence.

Rosalee rolled her eyes and followed her friends. _Messing with Rainbow isn't as fun as the others…I'll break her someday, though._

Rainbow bit her lip, shoulders sagging. Pep couldn't mask the feeling of no one believing you, not even for Rainbow.

"Don't worry, RJ, we believe you," said Marco, placing a hand on her shoulder. Rainbow's face brightened.

"Really?"

"Of course!" said Tony, giving a thumbs up, "Why would you lie to us?"

Rainbow titled her head to the side and giggled. "Aw, shucks, you guys are the best!" She then proceeded to wrap Tony in a warm, friendly hug.

Tony's cheeks immediately turned bright red as Rainbow invaded his personal space in way he never could've imagined. Her scent crept into his nose: she smelled like fresh flowers. Not the tainted musky presume odor, but the smell you get when buying a fresh cut bouquet. From there, her presence continued to caress his mind, further sending him into Panic Mode.

As both a Flying-Type Trainer and a regular guy, Harvey new what needed to be done. _Wingman Mode activated, _he thought as he took flight to Tony's rescue.

"Rainbow," he said, tapping her on the shoulder, "Ronnie told me she wanted to hear more about the Gardening Club."

Excited by a chance to add a member to the yet expanded club, Rainbow smiled and dashed over to Veronica, who stooped towards the back of the pack. Tony sighed, relieved.

_Thanks, _his gaze transcribed for Harvey.

_No problem, _he winked back.

Gabby squealed and pointed ahead. "Don't look now, but there's a cute guy at 12 o clock.

Amidst the throng of people and Pokémon, Gabby pointed to a tall boy of medium build standing next to a Lucario. He was dressed in grey brown slacks and a brown jacket over a black shirt. His skin was a light brown shade, and he wore glasses and a dark blue fedora over his long jet black hair.

Gabby and Faye wasted no time in making their way over to the boy to "introduce" themselves. Mako grinned daringly and fanned her face as if she were hot.

"Just in case you were wondering, I'm not caring you over there," Will said grumpily.

"It's okay," Mako sighed dreamily, "I can walk."

Veronica tuned out Rainbow's excited jabbering about the gardening club and focused on the studious look Will trained on Mako as she slowly made her way over to the new arrival.

_Now he's done it and he knows he's done it, _she thought, noting Will's concentration. Face somewhat strained, eyes narrowed, brows furrowed. _If Mako planned this, she's a genius. One more move on her part and he'll be eating out of the palm of her hand. In fact, Will's probably thinking of ways to win her over right now._

_How come everyone else has a cool hat? _Will thought to himself, studying the blue fedora. _This guy has a hat, Tony has a hat, Hunter has a hat. Why don't I have a hat?_

The boy had been conversing with his Lucario when the trio of admirers approached. Flustered, the girls initially had trouble speaking, but Faye broke the awkward silence.

"H-hi…Faye. I mean, I'm Faye!" she started laughing nervously, tilting her head back and forth. "I mean, why would I be saying hello to myself? I already know me! Ahahaha…and now I'm talking to myself…"

The guy chuckled. "Would you like to talk to me instead?"

"Very much so…" Relaxing as she realized this guy would be fair to her, Gabby shoved Faye onto the ground and put on a big smile. Her hands were folded behind her back, the toe of her right shoe twisting back and forth.

"Hi, I'm Gabby! But you can call me Gabby. Or 'sweetheart'. Or 'honey'. Or any pet name, really."

_She works fast…_ "Well, I'm Luis. Luis Auditore Hernandez. And this is Ria." Luis gestured to the Lucario at his side. "Right now, she's my only girl."

"Ruh," Ria greeted gruffly, already not too fond of the strangers. Their auras were…weird.

Gabby bit her lip and stared at the ground. "Oh…I didn't know you were one of _those _people…"

Luis flinched and sweatdropped. "N-no, I didn't mean…ahahaha!"

Back at the group, Tony sighed. "Well, Gabby seems to have creeped out the new guy thoroughly enough. Should we go inside?"

"I don't see why not," said Harvey, stretching. Everyone began to move out, but Harvey looked back over his shoulder. "C'mon, Will!"

"Huh?" Will looked at Harvey, and quickly took the medieval helmet he had been trying on back onto the wall. It clattered down from where it's intended place had been noisily. Will flipped around, arms clasped behind his back, walking casually away.

A familiar, disappointed sigh caught his attention. "Only three days here and I can estimate that wasn't the greatest amount of damage you've caused?"

Will turned to face a tall woman wearing an International Police uniform: a light brown overcoat that reached down to her knees, a light blue vest over a white shirt and a maroon tie, with light blue heeled shoes.

She wore a disapproving frown on her face, along with her icy blue eyes which added a crystalline beauty to her complexion. But even that wasn't her most striking feature.

It was her hair. It reached down to her shoulders, and was stark white. Whiter than snow.

"Oh," Will said guiltily with a mixture of happiness and mild disappointment, "Hey, Winter…"

Veronica stopped and turned around, bearing witness to the exchange between Will and the stern woman.

"Will, do you know this lady?"

"Uh, yeah," he said inelegantly, scratching the back of his head, "Guys, this is my cousin, Wi-"

"Agent Winter of the International Police," she interrupted, giving no care for Will's less than heartfelt introduction.

Will sighed. "Right. She's my cousin…"

"Elizabeth, is that you?"

Winter addressed the woman calling her by her birth name, none other than Ellie Morris. Her expression didn't change in the least as her old acquaintance approached. The blue haired teacher smiled.

"Hello, Ellie," greeted Winter, a slim smile spreading on her face. "It's been too long."

Most of the original group had doubled back to remain with Will. "Ms. Morris, you know Will's cousin?" asked Veronica.

Ellie nodded. "Winter and I graduated together. She was the valedictorian of our class."

Liara's eyes brightened up, intrigued. She shouldered her way through the mob of Trainers to address Winter directly.

"Ms. Winter, if I may ask, what were your study skills?" inquired Liara.

"I didn't have to study."

Liara was taken aback. "Y-you didn't? is winging it the key? Because thus far-"

"It's not that," chuckled Will, "Winter has an eidetic memory."

"A diabetic memory?" Marco scratched his head. "So, is it like, deprived of-"

"No, not _diabetic_. _Eidetic. _It means she has a photographic memory," explained Harvey. Marco mouthed and "Oh."

Winter nodded and placed her hands on her hips, brushing back her cloak. "That is correct. Everything I've ever seen, heard, smelled, tasted, even thought about is recorded forever in my mind. In thirty years, I will still recall every detail of this conversation."

"So how has work as a detective been going?" asked Ellie.

Winter shrugged. "Fairly well. After aiding in the search of the Plasma Sages, two of which I found myself, I was dispatched to Eterna City to evaluate the current status of an ongoing gang war. After which, my proximity being closest to the academy, I was called in to chaperone the International Police workshop here on Orientation Day."

Ellie smiled and shifted position on her feet. Looks like she had been right on the nose about her dress shoes: they killed.

"So, Winter, I heard you got a perfect score on your _Redemption _simulation."

Winter's eyes widened and what color remained on her pale face was flushed away. A cold sweat broke out on the back of Winter's neck, and her hands began to shake.

"Yes…that is true. Though I must admit, I had to attempt it several times."

"What's a _Redemption _scenario?" Tony leaned over and whispered into Will's ear.

"You're familiar with simulators, right? Its where they strap you to this machine that simulates a real life situation in your mind."

Will went on to explain the concept. Years ago during the Cold War, a fleet of Kanto airships were blockading Canalave Harbor, where the last remnants of the Sinnoh Loyalists Army was said to be based. The admiralty had just expected several small vessels to come out of the base once supplies ran out, possibly to attempt running or breaking the blockade.

Naval vessels and airships ambushed from all sides, annihilating the entire fleet, save for two small cruisers and a medical frigate, the _Redemption, _on it carrying General Roosevelt, who had been the son of Kanto's current president.

The simulation followed a fleet consisting of two battle frigates and a troopship flying to attempt a rescue as _Redemption_ sought refuge on Renbow Island of Oblivia. The person running the simulation would begin on _Scimitar_, a warship experiencing and engine malfunction in the heat of battle.

From there they'd be tasked with somehow routing the enemy fleet and saving _Redemption_, allowing it to limp back to harbor with the general onboard. That was the best case.

Worst case? Well…Simulated Sinnoh had a lot of scrap metal for their arsenal and one less general to deal with.

"Anyone entering any branch of the military has to do it these days," Will explained. Tony nodded understandingly.

"My Pappy used to be in the navy. Though he's probably too old to have done the scenario. I think he might've been in the actual battle…"

Across the lobby, Melody and Ari were stacking boxes of pamphlets by a table set up to showcase the ups of being a doctor working for the Nurse Joy Association.

Melody let out a bark of laughter. "I remember my _Redemption _scenario. I bombed it!"

"I'm sure you didn't do that bad," said Ari, grunting as she lifted a heavy box.

"No, seriously, I _bombed Redemption_. During my sim I took control of an enemy ship and shot missiles at _Redemption_."

Ari froze, completely confused. Her eye twitched. "Wha…why!?"

"I dunno," said Melody with a shrug, dropping a box on the foldout table and unloading its contents. "I thought they'd reward my ingenuity or something."

"And did they?"

Melody laughed again. "Nope. I got recommended for group therapy."

The sounds of explosions and sadistic laughter from Melody rang through Ari's head. She shivered and got back to work.

…

The auditorium was a large, sloped amphitheater not too different from a movie theater. The ceiling was covered with a variety of lighting set ups, making any manner of atmosphere possible for school plays.

There was an ocean of cushioned blue seats, most of which were quickly filling up with chatty students. Only the odd seat was available.

A disgruntled Liara plopped down in an empty one, grumbling to herself. She crumpled the "Kick Me" sign she had pulled off of her back and tossed it into the isle. The boy sitting next to her took note of this. He had blue eyes behind a thin pair of glasses, shoulder-length dirty-blond hair.

"Is something the matter?" he asked Liara. She rolled her eyes and adjusted her own glasses. He had a soft, intelligent voice.

"I'm trying to figure out how to get revenge on this ignoramus I call my roommate. She's been making my life a constant pain ever since we first met."

The boy smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Let me guess: the oblivious type? Obnoxious?"

"Childish," they both said at the same time. Liara lightened up a bit as the two shared a laugh.

"Yes, very much so," said Liara, folding her hands and twiddling her thumbs.

"In that case, I might have the perfect idea. It may or may not pay off on her account, but for intelligent people like you and I, it will be quite hilarious."

He held out a hand. "Volan Gurei." Liara smiled and shook his it.

…

Giggling wildly, Faye sat down in an empty seat. The boy sitting next to her took note of this. He had purple hair slicked to the side of his head. He was tall, taller than Will, and even had striking yellow eyes to counter Will's electric blue. You'd think the guy was built to oppose him…

He was dressed in school attire, though wore no shoes…

"What's so funny?" he asked Faye. She wiped a tear from her eyes and held her chest, trying to breath.

"I'm just trying to figure out how to mess with my geeky roommate. She's my friend, but she's such a sucker!"

The boy smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Let me guess: stuck up? Superiority complex?"

"Know-it-all," they both said at the same time. Faye began laughing wildly once again.

"Yes, very much so," said Faye, crossing her legs on the chair.

"In that case, I might have the perfect idea. It'll be a riot, and for people like you and me who enjoy a good laugh, it'll be especially hilarious."

He held out a hand. "Thomas Cox." Faye smiled and shook it.

…

Headmistress Harkin, amidst the sea of sound, began to ascend the small set of stairs leading up to the great stage at the forefront of the auditorium. Even though none of the students watched, Harkin carried herself with the usual authoritative air, like she owned the place.

Which she pretty much did.

Unfazed by the raucous din, Harkin made her way to the center of the stage to the microphone set up under a spotlight.

She looked up at the auditorium before her and tapped the microphone. Almost instantly, it became so silent that you could hear a marble roll.

"Good evening, students. Faculty, visitors, everyone. Welcome to the 2013 Class Orientation of Eterna Academy."

All of the adult spectators lined up on the walls applauded, and were supported by a sparse clapping from the students.

"We look forward to another successful year of training the best our world has to offer to handle the worst it can dish out. Over the years, a number of crises have arisen, the likes of which were ended by students not much different from the ones I see before me.

"They were young, inexperienced, and faced with overwhelming odds. I, along with every member of my staff, are here to take the next step. When you leave these walls, you will not be champions in the making like famous Trainers come and gone.

"You will be champions _made_. Ready at the people's disposal when danger once again knocks on the door of the world we know now. So that there will never be another Team Rocket. Or Team Magma, Galactic, Plasma, and the list can go on. But it shall cease. Because soon the world will experience something, the likes of which has never held true in all of human history.

"Peace. Tranquility. Unadulterated concord. Humans and Pokémon will truly know unity once this generation takes flight. You are the masters of your own destinies, and the pilots of tomorrow's world."

For about half an hour, Harkin went on to describe and glorify the program, how the academy started out as just the dream of a Sinnoh Champion, who wished for there not only to be _a _Champion, but plenty to be raised and educated.

Eventually, Harking reached the end of her lecture. The most crucial, and surprising, point.

"Here before me sit the best out world has to offer. Or at least, it will. Eterna Academy only excepts the greatest to make them greater. I have no doubt in my mind that before me sit some who have coasted their way through life. Graced into this school. Lucked out. Were bought in."

In her seat, Rosalee gulped and tensed up nervously.

"In fact, I have singled several of you out. But I am a busy woman. Some of you undoubtedly have escaped my eye. But you will not for long.

"In exactly one week's time, your raw skill will be put to the test. A trip into the wilds outside of Floroma Town will be put together, and your skills as a Trainer put to the test: you will be tasked with capturing a Pokémon.

"Several factors will be employed to determine the exam grade you receive for your capture: what species of Pokémon, condition, what type of Pokéball you used, et cetera."

Harkin scanned the auditorium for a moment with her hawk's eyes. She let silence rule the air, and then spoke again.

"But fail to capture a Pokémon at all, and your participation in the program shall be terminated."

Nervous chatter erupted amongst the students, some bragging about how this challenge was no challenge at all, others fretting about whether or not they'd be able to do it. The slackers were truly taken by surprise, as was everyone else.

Harkin let them fester, and then restored order with her voice.

"But, I have faith in that those of you who belong here will not disappoint me. Those of you who do _not _belong, well…" A serpentine smile creased her lips. "Saying it was a pleasure knowing you would be a blatant lie. I simply wish to rid myself of the shirkers before they waste too much of my time.

"Good luck, keep your goals in sight, and let's have an enjoyable and productive year. I hope you all enjoy yourself at the dance later this evening, and in your classes onwards. Good day."

…

Amira patted Dante on the back as the two exited the auditorium. Since they had met, Amira had taken the timid boy under her wing to show him the ropes and assure that no one would mess with him.

They weren't together, which Amira had to make..._painfully _clear to several wise-alecks.

"Well, what did you think of our illustrious headmistress's inspiring speech?" Amira asked with a roughish grin. She waved her hands whimsically in front of her face. "The best of tomorrow! Ha! I wanted to throw up!"

Dante was too busy staring at his hands whilst tapping his fingers together. He was shaking. "W-what if I don't catch a Pokémon? I'll get kicked out of the school! My mom-"

Amira slapped him on the back, causing him to stumble forward. Amira wrapped a muscled arm around the Dante's neck and gave him a playful noogie.

"Don't you fret! Ol' Amira's here to help!" She smiled and shoved him to the side. "Besides, you're twelve years old! Bottom line freshman age is fourteen! If you got in this young, you must be somethin' special!"

Doubt still hung heavy on Dante's mind, but Amira was in fact right. Dante had been top of his class back in grade school. On several occasions he had been recommended to skip a grade, but his mother managed to intervene. Dante could barely interact with people in his own grade. He would've been eaten alive among older students.

Dante lifted his head a tad, and then noticed the white haired woman leaning up against the opposite wall, her crystal blue eyes staring daggers at Amira. Her face was expressionless, so Dante wasn't sure if she was angry or not.

Amira noticed this too, and her playful attitude faded. "Do you know that lady, Amira?" asked Dante. Amira's brows furrowed as the lady began to approach.

"Go back to your room and get ready for the dance, Dante. I'll catch up with you later."

Dante obeyed and ran off, trusting that if this was something Amira didn't want him around for, it was something he didn't want to be around.

"Whatever it was, I didn't do it," growled Amira as the woman approached. She stopped and put a hand on her hip.

"Whatever you're referring to, I don't believe you."

Amira crossed her arms and scowled. "Well, you're here for something, aren't you, Snowtop?"

"Agent Winter. Our meeting here was by chance. But I know you, Amelia Rose."

Clenching her teeth, Amira's face contorted at the mention of her own birth name. "Listen, lady, I don't know what you think I did wrong, but-"

"Think?" Winter seemed to raised herself higher at the mention of assuming. She began to walk slowly forward, backing Amira up against a wall. "I do not _think_. When I am sure of something, I am absolutely, undisputedly sure of it and will not act without that degree of clarity. If you truly haven't done anything Amelia, you're golden."

One of Winter's hands brushed aside her cloak, revealing a M-12 Harpy stun pistol strapped to her hip. Ever since the universal ban on bullets, all firearms housed either energy batteries or stun pellets. Though the latter were nowhere near as deadly as bullets were or energy could be, Amira was familiar with the model. The Harpy stung like a thousand Beedrills stinging one spot.

"Regardless, I know what you _were_, Amelia. And if you reveal that hideous side of yourself once again, _especially_ if my cousin is put in harm's way, we're going to get to know each other better."

A shiver was sent down Amira's spine as Winter leaned in close, her expression and words as icy cold as her name. "And Winter _never _forgets. If and when you face me, there is nowhere you can run or hide to escape the cold."

And with that, Winter turned on her heels and left a speechless Amira behind with a simple flip of her cloak.

Amira shivered.

* * *

**Winter has issued a threat to Amira. What does she mean about "what she was?" Who will be rooted out by Harkin's test of skill next week? What future struggles will the Alliance have with the Combine? Does Heatran have it in for Will? Just how crazy is Melody Joy? Stay tuned for that! Next time we get the school dance, Volan helps Liara plot revenge, and Harkin gets a very special package. What trouble could our hapless heroes possibly get into at a school dance?**

**You'd be surprised...I anticipate that to take two chapters, followed by the start of classes! Hooray! I'll finally be able to split up OCs a bit better with classes. Those of you who haven't written OC stories, or anything involving a large group of people for that matter, you have no idea how hard scenes with a large group are. I want to be able to focus on individual characters shining through, which is hard when they're all bunched up. I want all these marvelous characters to get due screen time!**

**A little Pokemon news (which you should all know already) but Mega Evolutions are here! Just today we got info on Mega Ampharos, Mawile, and Absol. Mega Ampharos is part Dragon-Type, which is aaaaawesome! I love Ampharos!**

**But I wonder about Mega Evolutions...we know that is simply adds "Mega" to the title. Does it work with nicknames? Could I catch a Heracross, name it Kabutarimon, and considering Heracross can Mega Evolve...I hope some of you know where I'm going with this.**

**And on the subject of Gen 6: no Gen 6 in this story until AT LEAST more is revealed on the subjects I wish to use (with absolutely one exception I have in mind). So hold your Horseas on that.**

**Finally, I was considering starting a counter on every time Will says some variation of "I should go." So far we're at 2. See if you can find them all!**

**So, please take the time to review, give me all your thoughts, maybe even a little constructive feedback, and I'll see you next time!**


	9. Chapter 9: Techno Vibe

**Sorry about the delay, all. My computer was having issues, but it's all better now! Yay! So, I'll treat you to a tad-longer chapter.**

**Today will feature two new OCs from SuperStarKirby and a sea of sound. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was midafternoon. A large, rectangular package was wheeled into Harkin's office by two burly delivery men, not too pleased about their current stop. Weird stuff had passed down the grapevine about the lady who ran the place... Smiling, Harking stood from her desk and clapped her hands together. "Ah, thank you, gentlemen. Leave it right there, if you'd please."

"Right here?" asked one of the guys operating the cart. Harkin nodded and waved her hand, showing much more lenience than was expected by the men.

"Yes, yes, that is fine, thank you. Ask Alan for your tip on the way out."

The two men nodded and bid her farewell, eager to leave. Though they wanted to run like Giratina himself was breathing down their necks, they knew they couldn't flail too desperately. After all, a Yanma stuck in an Ariados' web would only serve to get itself stuck further if it struggled to get out.

Instead they got a strangely cheery Headmistress Harkin, as eager to open the box as a child on Christmas, while still retaining most of her commanding composure of course.

Well, as cheery as the seemingly omni-unimpressed, condescending, and syndical Headmistress Harking could get. But she seemed a bit brighter. A thin-lipped smile tugged at her usually contracted cheeks.

Alan, leaning his head through from the other side of the door, noticed this as well. Had Harkin seen him he would've been yelled at for at least an hour, and forced to suffer her rude and degrading remarks for days to come, but Harkin was far too busy gawking at the new addition to the center of her office.

As the delivery men walked by, they held out their hands to Alan expectantly. The secretary snapped out of his trance and handed them each an envelope containing a small sum of money.

"She really seems excited," said Alan, trying to probe the two for information. As her secretary, many of Harkin's "goings ons" passed over his desk, but the woman still had a great many secrets. Secrets Alan wanted.

One of the men chuckled. "I'd hope it's something worth getting excited over. Nearly threw out my back carting this thing in here."

"I'll say," concurred the other one, "That thing weighed a ton!"

Alan nodded and decided they had no info on what was inside, save for "it was heavy." This package was different from most of the others Harkin had delivered. Normally, everything brought specifically to the Headmistress fit the criteria of a wide, squat squares covered with a tarp that were relatively light.

"Thank you, gentlemen. You remember the way out?"

They nodded and made their way back to their vehicle. Alan peeked back into the office and saw Harkin slowly rounding the box, feeling it with her hand. Like a Mandibuzz inspecting a corpse.

Realizing she was nearing a point where she would face the door, Alan shot back into his seat. Just in time, too.

Around the corner came Charon and two other teachers. The first was a petite, pixie like woman with elfish features. Behind red rimmed glasses and under hear heavy eyelids were dim blue eyes, betraying her sparkling brilliance. Her natural brown hair was dyed beach blonde, and although class had yet to officially start, she wore the academy teachers' uniform with distinct pride. This was Ellie May van Rossum, literally one of the smartest women alive and the academy's chief algebra teacher.

Next to her was a tall blonde haired man in a lab coat. He too wore glasses before his brighter blue eyes. This was Zachary Chrome, the academy physics teacher.

To avoid scrutiny, Alan looked down to his keyboard and feigned business, typing away on his computer. The three paid him no mind as they entered Harkin's office, Chrome shutting the door behind them.

…

Harkin looked up as her company entered and smiled, opening her arms. "Welcome, my associates. As you can see, Radna Technological Advances has sent us our special package."

"Quite," said Colress, adjusting his glasses. "Shall we test it, Headmistress."

"I am not as cruel as to force you three to wait, Ivo," Harkin said, cracking a grin and addressing Charon by his first name.

Ellie-May rose a slender hand. "If I may, Headmistress?"

"Of course, my dear."

"This model is factory new. Are we going to run diagnostics to make sure there are no errors?" Ellie May was infamously meticulous, and would tolerate no errors in anything she had any part in. A perfectionist in every sense of the word.

"I concur," said Chrome with his trademarked frown. "It wouldn't do for it to go on a rampage and kill us all."

Reaching over to her desk, Harking grabbed the flash drive that Agatha had given her earlier. "Do not fret. I have that all under control. Atticus?"

Her Aerodactly lifted its head and padded over to her. He nuzzled Harking with his snout, which she pecked with a kiss and then a gentle pat.

"Please leave us, darling. Go for a fly."

With a minor flap of his wings, Atticus was on the ceiling. He padded over to the large, cylindrical hatch tailored especially for his comings and goings. As he had been trained, he tapped a large green button on the control panel. The pressure sealing hissed and the hatch opened, letting Atticus out.

Chrome shivered. At heart, he was truly a sinister man. But watching Harkin treat such a primal and demonic beast like it was a Purrloin kitten? It helped remind him who was in charge.

Harkin was busy at work. On the small control panel attached to the box, she tapped in her authentication code. It beeped twice and flashed green as the pressure seals at each end of the box depressurized.

Harkin stepped to the side as the front panel of the box collapsed, revealing its contents. Inside was a mass of purple machinery, folded into a bulky square. Nothing more.

The Headmistress tapped another button on the control panel as her three associates gathered around.

Metal cuffs around to leg-like apparatuses at the bottom unlocked with a _CHINK_. Harking jerked her head towards the machine, and the two men moved forward to remove it from the box.

After several minutes of grunting and groaning, it was set before Harkin and Ellie-May with a _THUNK! _Although the two men weren't exactly in Olympic shape, they were still grown adults, and suggested with their effort that big things do indeed come in small packages.

Then again, that's just what Harkin had paid for.

On top of its head was a glowing blue button. Harkin pressed it without hesitation, and that's when the magic started to happen.

The two "legs" extended up, everything else still in box shape. Next to be unfurled was its insectoid body, followed by two arms extending on either side. A round, chunky apparatus with a gun barrel was folded onto its back as the head slowly curled upwards.

On the back of its triangular head was a small bump. Two headlight-like eyes wrapped around the front, with a translucent rectangle connecting them.

The two eyes flashed blue, and a computerized version of the Radna startup jingle played. An answering machine style voice began to speak.

_"Radna Technological Advances would like to thank you for your participation in the G-XT Beta Model Program. This model comes with a helpful tutorial to-"_

"Oh, skip that. _Always _skip that," said Charon, waving a hand.

"Are you sure?" asked Chrome. "There could be-"

"Would you two idiots quit squabbling?" hissed Harkin, straightening up and clasping her hands behind her back. "Administrative input: skip tutorial."

The eyes flashed twice, each flash accompanied by a quick beep. This time, the voice was a low buzz. _"Administrative input recognized. Beginning startup process."_

There was a brief mechanical whir, and then two more flashes. _"Startup process complete. Syncing with external data drives." _Harkin inserted a disk into the disk drive located in the bump on the machine's head, which had been invisible until it's present necessity.

Same as the other two times. _"Sync complete. Administrative input required."_

"You will download and utilize this software," said Harkin, holding out Agatha's flash drive. She pressed it into the machine's head, and then took it back out.

_"Downloading software from external drive." _There was a paused, and a Metroid scanning-esque noise came from the machine.

_"Download complete. Hickory-Dex download complete. Updating software. Software update complete. Hickory-Dex installed and functional. Power deviation required: .7% Operational rating: acceptable."_

Charon rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Now, how about that test…"

Harkin held up a hand, signaling him to be patient. "Administrative input: review functions.

_"Administrative input accepted. Beginning functionality review. Power status: 100%. Holding. Primary fuel status: 100%. Holding. Secondary fuel status: 100%. Holding. Hardware functionality: nominal. Software functionality: nominal. Zero bugs detected. Zero system errors detected. Weapons system: nominal. Test recommended."_

The machine began to rifle down the list of every little detail, until it got to one in particular. _"Alert: wireless connectivity anomaly detected."_

Harkin flinched and quickly barked, "Administrative input: observation override."

_"Administrative input accepted." _

Harkin turned to her associates and gestured to the machine. "There. Are you not impressed?"

Charon gulped. "Y-yes, but it itself _did _recommend a test of the weapons systems…"

"Noted. Unit G-XT, you may test your weapons systems. But use discretion."

"Headmistress," said Ellie May. Worry and doubt wore on the solemn woman's surprisingly gentle features. Normally, her composure rivaled even Harkin's.

"Yes?"

"A-are you sure that letting an advance AI use its own discretion is a good idea?"

It was true that Harkin knew she was in control and had goals to fulfill with this machine, but the Headmistress was also not a fool. Such risks would not be taken.

"Administrative input: mission parameters."

_Accepting parameters. Administrative standby: activated."_

"G-XT, you are to review the list of priority targets and survey and expanding radius to find one. You shouldn't have much trouble if you look hard enough. These woods should be positively infested with our enemies. I want the subject alive and unconscious. Minimize collateral damage and if you can, create no witnesses. If you do, leave none.

Its eyes blinked twice. _"Task parameters recognized. Logged. Task in progress: Capture target of interest. Scanning for exit vector._

This was a graceful machine, one that would not simply blast a hole in the wall and take off from there. G-XT first scanned the window.

_"Chances of detection: 79%. Chances of structure damage: 100%. Scanning for alternate route."_

It next turned to the door and scanned that. Inside of G-XT's head, the yellowed scanner circle honed in on the doorknob, and data began to scrolls by faster than any human could possibly read. _"Caustic methods required. Gripping apparatus uninstalled."_

Charon stifled a chuckle. He leaned over to Chrome and whispered, "It can't even open a doorknob?"

Harkin caught wind of this and raised an eyebrow. Charon and Chrome froze like Deerling in headlights.

"I expect better of you not to doubt my abilities, Charon."

The fat man gulped. "I-I was only-"

"Talking about the machine?" Harkin's eyes narrowed and she began to stalk forward, infuriated by Charon's insolence. "You do realize that _I _ordered the machine. _I _took into consideration what it would be used for. And _I _specified its technical details. As I will now demonstrate." She straightened back up and flicked her hand at the machine. "G-XT, show him."

_"Logged. Adapting."_

From G-XT's eyes shot a holographic web signifying the scan in progress. The doorknob was surveyed, and the light net blinked out.

_"Scan complete. Gripping apparatus installed. Adaption successful."_

Harkin wore a serpent's smile as she gestured from Charon to G-XT. "You see, Charon. G-XT is in no way akin to its predecessor, the machine created by Team Plasma to kill in the name of their false cause. G-XT can accept goals, make no mistake, but can also adapt to any situation. G-XT, display your skill."

The pointed claw at the end of G-XT's purple arm glowed, and thin lines divided it into neat pointed triangles. It split, leaving G-XT with three triangular fingers. Its new "hand" rotated as it tested the full functionality of its new "fingers," before condensing back into its normal form.

"G-XT can now perform with nominal use of its newfound skill. Its limitless knowledge and ability to make decisions make it near impossible to surprise, but no system is perfect, and I am not as ignorant to expect as much. That is why I requested and contributed to the creation of its Resource Drive. G-XT _literally_ cannot be taken by surprised by the same thing twice."

"So in other words, 'Fool it once, shame on it. Fool it twice, die'," chortled Charon.

"Quite," Harkin put bluntly, stroking her throat. "Which reminds me; I grow tired of referring to you by the factory designation, G-XT. Administrative input: call sign."

_"Administrative standby: activated."_

"Call sign designation: Genesect."

Genesect's eyes blinked twice. _"Call sign accepted. This unit shall now respond to 'Genesect'."_

…

Most of Eterna Academy's student body were busy as Combee readying themselves for the dance. Girls massed at an average of ten per small dorm giving makeovers. Guys were busy ridding their faces of any unwanted passengers from lunch. Both sides were psyching each other out to ask that special someone to dance.

Will and Harvey? Not so much. The common room was completely empty except for the two of them, sitting on a plush sofa and patching _CSI: Castelia _on the largest television set in the room, usually unavailable with the amount of people that sought entertainment in the common room.

At this moment, Mako entered, all dressed up in her Sunday best. She wore a pair of open toed heels and a sleeveless black dress with two thin straps close to her neck. The raven haired girl glared angrily at the two boys on the couch, and stalked over to them.

Outside, rain was beginning to fall thick and heavy, wind howling against the windows. A boom of thunder and a crack of lightning weren't too rare as the minutes ticked by.

Though Harvey and Will had no idea she was there. They just kept watching.

_"Captain, I've got a new case," _said the pretty detective, walking into her superior's office.

The charismatic main character spun around in his chair, cupping his hands on the desk. _"And?"_

She flopped a few documents on his desk. _"Ten year old kid dead in an alley. At least, we think he was ten. Body was burned beyond recognition, and it was completely waterlogged to boot."_

_"What do you make of all this?" _he asked, studying the papers.

_"Johnson thinks he got caught in between a gang battle between rival gangs Fireflies and Tridents."_

The detective nodded. _"Looks like he was in some," _he said as he put his sunglasses on, _"Hot water."_

_YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAH!_

Unannounced, Mako walked up behind Will and swatted him on the back of the head. Giggling as Will rubbed the stinging spot, she leaned over the back of the couch.

"Wha…what was that for?" stammered an agitated Will.

"Why aren't you two getting ready for the dance?" she asked. Harvey simply picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels.

"Eh. We don't wanna go."

Now it was his turn to earn a slap upside the head from Mako. Before he could scold her, she took command.

"You two are going if I have to drag you there!" she declared in a motherly tone, hands on her hips. "And where's Tony?"

"He's back in the dorm playing Clue with our Pokémon," Will responded.

…

Lucky studied the cards in her hand, and then the sheet she was using to mark down clues. "Freeeh free…freeeeh!"

Tony reached into the center of the board and grabbed the yellow packet. "Alright, if that's your guess…but keep in mind that if you're wrong, you lose!"

The Butterfree crossed her arms and donned a smug grin. Tony shrugged and opened the packet, studying the cards to figure out whodunnit.

"Let's see…Colonel Mustard…Observatory…lead pipe…wow, I guess you win again, Lucky!"

Mixed cries of outrage sounded from all of the other Pokémon, all of them holding cards.

Lancelot slammed his on the ground and crossed his arm. "Karra, Karrablast!" _She's cheating, I know it!_

Mickey mewed laid her head down on her paws. "Mrooow…" _And I just wanted to play Monopoly…"_

…

Mako shook her head. "Well, go get changed, collect Blondie, and be down at the gymnasium by eight."

"But-"

"EIGHT!"

As Will disgruntledly obeyed, Harvey chuckled and continued flipping through channels. Mako waited for a moment before bellowing, "AND YOU, TOO!"

…

Hands in his pockets, Emil stormed through the halls, grumpy as ever, with his right hand man, a brown skinned boy named Vincent.

"Pitiful," he grumbled, passing a knot of giggling girls in dresses, "I can't believe they're wasting their time with such a useless practice when they could be preparing for more important things. These girls are willing to take more time readying themselves for public display than to get better at, well, anything, and these guys are willing to glorify them for it."

Vincent snickered. "So I take it you _aren't _going to the dance?"

"No Vincent. I am not going to the dance."

He shrugged. "Alright. I'm just sayin' though, Hunter's probably gonna be there bragging about your 'defeat' and all…"

Emil stopped and began walking in the complete other direction with a purpose. "I'll see if I can find a nice shirt…"

…

Quite like the common room was at the moment, the library was as empty as a bowl of free Master Balls, but that went without saying on an occasion like this (or, well, any occasion at all).

Except for one round table, well secluded in the back corner, which Liara and Volan had declared their base of operations in the prank war against Faye.

So, basically, their entire operation would be busted if Faye just decided to walk into the library.

That being said, it was a virtual Fortress of Solitude.

Gnawing on the end of a pencil, Liara tapped a few more keys into her laptop and read what she found. "And it looks like…darn it! Faye isn't allergic to roses. I thought she was…" Her other hand scribble "Biological Warfare" off of a list she had started on a legal pad.

Volan rubbed some sleep out of his eyes and stood up. "Well, what's say we call it in, eh?"

"Why?" asked Liara, motioning to her computer. "I thought we were going to utilize this peace and quiet while everyone was at the dance?"

Volan looked down and scratched the back of his head, looking for the courage to say these next few words.

"Well, I, uh…I was actually gonna ask if you wanted…to, uh…to go to that…"

Liara blinked and shivered. "Th-the dance?" Volan nodded.

"As l-like…a…date…type deal?"

Another nod.

Honest to Arceus, Liara briefly considered a quick internet search on what she should do next. There she was, being asked on a date by a guy, paralyzed in place. Liara had never been invited on such a social escapade.

In fact, in all the fifteen years of her life, Liara had never been invited anywhere by anyone. She had hoped to have had at least a little experience in accepting invitations by this point.

Though she wasn't really arguing with her first time. Today was a great day for firsts: first day of school, first invitation to go somewhere with someone, and first time being 100% lost.

_Think, Liara, think! _she hissed at herself, feeling that if she simply sat there much longer she'd look like an idiot. _What do regular girl do in situations like this? Scream giddily? No, it's a library…Say no? Kinda desperate here…Ask a girlfriend? Do I have any of those…?_

Suddenly, the studious Liara felt a fluffy twinge within her heart. All her life she had been ruled by logic, ruled by the numbers. Now, emotion was ready to take its turn at the wheel: her inner teenage girl was struggling to get out.

"Uuuuh…s-sure," she stammered out. Everything shook as she slowly rose to her feet. Liara needed to use the back of the chair for balance, and even then she almost tipped it over and broke her chin on the table. "J-just l-lemmie g-got get r-ready…"

Deep inside, the little Liara who liked boys and clothes and painting her nails slumped down, completely exhausted from that one surge of emotion. Somewhere close by, the little Liara who liked books and math and computers was rubbing her aching temple, and devising ways to kill the other Liara.

Liara stumbled out of the library, nearly knocking over a stack of books on the way out. The elderly librarian just kept on reading her own novel, unaware of the student who appeared to be experiencing some sort of mental trauma.

A few minutes passed before Liara burst back in, speedily making her way through rows of bookshelves to her table.

She smiled at Volan, her lips quivering. "Ehehe…forgot my stuff…"She shouldered her backpack, tucked her laptop under her arm, and left for real this time.

An uncontrolled giggle escaped her throat before she pushed open the double doors, which bounced through the empty walls of the library.

"Shhhhhh!" hissed the librarian, adjusting her glasses and restoring to the novel.

For a moment, Volan found himself alone in the library with just his thoughts. While on the outside he appeared to be shivering slightly, he in fact was very warm on the inside.

_She looked really happy…I'm gonna make sure tonight is extra special for her._

He began to gather his things in preparation to leave. But little did he know that he _wasn't _in fact alone in the library.

And no, I don't mean the librarian.

Separated by only a bookshelf was a table occupied by Rosalee and her entourage. The five girls had sought a quiet place to let their nails dry: the hands of each were fanned flat on the table, and their feet up on another chair.

A wolfish grin spread across Rosalee's face. One of her lackies from across the table giggled.

"Girl, I know that look. You've got a plan."

"Darn right I do," sighed Rosalee, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "It seems like Robot Girl has finally found love…but all new programs come with bugs. _Exploitable _bugs."

"Is she afraid of Bug-Types?" asked Tami, who wasn't exactly the coolest Burn Heal in the Pokémart. "Because that Toby kid has a bunch! We could ask him!"

Rosalee rolled her eyes. "Tami, sweetheart, stick to cheerleading. What I mean is we're just gonna mess with him."

Tami smiled and nodded like she understood. "Ooooh…so we don't have to ask Terry?"

…

Lost and confused on what to do past the initial "Yes," Liara sought out the final of the three options she had considered.

Swallowing her pride (and the twelve pieces of gum she had been chewing to try and focus her mind elsewhere) Liara knocked on the door shared by Veronica Payton and Amelia Rose.

Veronica was applying her lipstick in a desk mirror when she heard the knocking. Veronica had expected visitors, but she was honest-to-goodness surprised at who this one turned out to be.

"Liara! What's up?"

The younger girl looked down at her feet, which were currently tapping against one another. "Erm…it's about the dance…"

"I thought you weren't going?" said Veronica, leaning up against the doorframe.

"Well, I wasn't, but…"

Veronica's face lit up. She took Liara's hands. "Someone asked you!?" Liara nodded.

"That's great! Do you need advice? I've been out with plenty of boys and-"

Liara held up a hand and smiled meekly. "That's great and all, but I think that would be getting a little ahead of ourselves…"

"How so?" asked Veronica, cocking her head to the side.

"I, erm…don't know what to do next…"

Veronica smiled, and pulled her inside. She moved over to her desk and pulled out a cosmetics kit.

"Well then, my young Padawan, you've come to the right place."

**-13 Minutes Later-**

Veronica had summoned an army of other girls to whip Liara into event shape. Among them, Hunter and Gabby, where was responsible for Liara's nails, Grace, who was doing makeup, and Rainbow, who hummed a happy tune as she wove Liara's hair.

To the girls, it was just another makeover with a friend. To Liara, it felt like she was being reconstructed in a science fiction film. Every sensation was foreign, alien even…

…and Liara kind of liked it. Looks like the little Liara who liked clothes and boys and painting her nails was getting a little time in the limelight after all.

Veronica stood over Liara, who was lying on her back on Amira's bed as all of this went down. She smiled.

"Alright, we're almost done, Liara. Just have to finish your legs and we'll be all set!"

"Yeah, I have to admit, my legs have gotten a bit hairy…"

Veronica let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, about that…we don't exactly have enough time to shave them, soooo…"

"We're gonna wax them!" Gabby chirped excitedly.

Liara gulped.

…

Fighting the howling winds and pouring rain, Genesect zipped through the sky above Eterna Forest with relative ease. His Flight Mode was quite compact and resistant, and his jet thrusters could cut through hurricane winds like a hot knife through butter.

Still, the extreme weather was causing havoc with his scanners. Genesect could barely distinguish a Wurmple from a Burmy under these circumstances.

However, his Resource Drive was hard at work developing a patch. The longer he stayed out in the rain, the better he'd be able to deal with it.

Genesect's eyes flashed and beeped twice. _"Hourly function check: in progress. Altitude: 200 meters. Wind resistance: fluxuating, average 10 kilometers per hour. Estimated duration of storm based on temperature readings and humidity: seven hours. Vital system damage: zero percent. Nonessential system damage: three percent. Correction: in progress. Resuming normal functions."_

Everything checked out. Genesect could predict any internal happening as easy as a clock could predict noon. Externally, Genesect was almost as good, but these things were beyond his control.

Not everything could be perfect.

Genesect could count on nearly anything. The exact path of the leaves whipping around in the wind before him. The landing spot of individual droplets of rain. Even bolts of lightning.

However, those were quite spontaneous, and could hardly be avoided. Which is precisely why it struck him.

Genesect detected the disturbance in the clouds above with millisecond timing, and bucked out of the way just in time for it to miss his chassis, which would've meant certain death.

But the bolt, several times hotter than the surface of the sun, still grazed him, and frazzled his circuits.

Genesect unfurled from his Aerial Mode midair and began to convulse as he plummeted.

_"ERROR…CRITICAL MALFUNCTION…SYSTEM RECOVERY IN PROGRESS…SYSTEM RECOVER FAILED…ATTEMPTING…ksgh…PERCENT ERROR…THIRTY…ksgh…NOT THE DROID YOU ARE LOOKING FOR…ER..ERRO…ksgh…SHUTDOWN…TARGET SELECTED! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! KILL CASSIUS GREY!"_

Blue lightning crackled around Genesect's joints, and abruptly stopped. At the last second, Genesect morphed back into Aerial Mode, and took flight, causing several trees to bend do to the recoil.

Target selected, Genesect made his way back to Eterna Academy.

…

The gymnasium of Eterna Academy had been augmented for full dance functionality. The center portion of the gym was reserved for dancing, with s DJ stand at the end. This entire area was ringed by white tables where students sat, ate, and generally congregated. Streamers and whatnot hung from the ceiling, helping the light reflected from the disco ball bounce about the room.

It was about half an hour into the event, and the vast majority of the student body was already in full party swing, those who weren't there either straggling due to some delay or not coming whatsoever.

Enter Veronica, Gabby, Hunter, Rainbow, and Grace, giggling jubilantly in their dresses and high heels. They stopped after entering, holding the doors open.

"Alright, come on in. Let's see how we did!"

Liara slowly made her way in. There was a good second's delay between her heel and her toes touched the ground, as the girls didn't have time to give her any sort of lessons on walking in the fancy shoes.

Now, after the makeover had been completed, Veronica and the others completely rejected Liara's only fancy clothes, which made her look like a nun, and had to start from scratch.

They had to admit they did a good job for literally having to start from the ground up. Liara wore a sparkling pair of blue high heels for footwear. Moving up her surprisingly shapely legs (which still stung immensely, but the redness was quickly fading) she wore a dark blue shirt, neatly allowing her smooth light blue blouse to be tucked in. Over that she wore a thin veil-like white jacket.

Since she had never used any before and was thus unsure of to what degree, Liara didn't wear that much makeup: just red lipstick, some eye shadow mascara.

Liara's eyes nervously darted from person to person and felt as if she were about to start sweating (which, by the way, she was told specifically not to do as if she could hold it in).

She backed up a little bit to allow Veronica to catch up. "They're staring at me…some of them are staring at me…"

"That's a good thing, gorgeous," giggled Veronica, giving Liara a playful shove (which she regretted, because Liara almost toppled in her high heels and required both Faye and Grace to grab her).

Gabby wrapped and arm around her and began to lead her (somewhat against her will) to the table where Volan sat with Ben, Marco and Nathan. Marco and Volan had been conversing, and it had been Marco to notice her first.

"Whoa…" he bumped Volan in the shoulder with his elbow, "Dude, look at Liara!"

Volan turned, and his eyes immediately widened. _Whoa indeed…_

As they grew closer and closer to the table, Liara truly began to resist Gabby's coaxing, and the high heels were truly not her friend in the fight to push back. All her efforts to stop resulted in skidding and the near breaking of ankles.

"Gabby, I-I changed my mind! I wanna go back to my room and read!"

"Quit resisting or I wax your arms, too," Gabby whispered into Liara's ear. Liara gulped, causing Gabby to giggle. "Now go get em!"

She shoved Liara forward to cover the final few feet. The unbalanced girl stumbled forward, slamming right into none other than Rosalee, spilling her red punch all over the front of her dress.

Immediately, everyone close by stopped what they were doing to watch. Liara backed up and observed what she had done. Rosalee's mouth was agape in disgust, slowly panning up from her ruined dress to the one who had ruined it.

At this rate, the amount of gulping Liara was doing that night would bankrupt her mouth of moisture. "S-sorry, Rosa-"

"Oh, no, it's fine," she snapped, and then walked briskly away. Her little entourage exchanged a few nervous glances and followed. Even _they _were afraid.

Quickly, to preserve the moment, Ben shot up from his chair and offered it to Liara. She thanked him and sat down, her entire body shaking.

Ben clapped his hands together. "So, you guys want anything? I was just gonna go over to the food table."

"I'll have some punch, please," said Volan.

"Sure. Liara?"

"No, water is fine for me, thanks."

Liara and Volan sat in relative silence for a moment, simply exchanging awkward glances and trying to look happy every time their eyes met, only to revert to lip biting and finger tapping afterwards.

"Soooo," said Volan, fiddling with a fork, "Think of any new ideas to get back at Faye."

"N-no, not recently," said Liara, tilting one of her heels back and forth.

Over in the corner of the gym, Rosalee's lackies offered her paper towels and compliments to try and quell her rage as she dabbed at the red spot on her once impeccable white dress.

"Y-you still look great!" stammered one.

"Yeah," agreed another, "Your shoes still look good!"

Tami nodded. "Yeah! And your eyes really bring out the stain!"

Rosalee shot her a molten glance and returned to her vain attempt to clean the stain. "I'd sue her, but I doubt she'd have anything I want. I'd freeze her fat head and smash it against the table, but Pokémon aren't allowed."

Rosalee wanted swift and painful vengeance to ensure the message was sent that this garbage would not be tolerated.

The enraged heiress scanned the room for potential engines of revenge. Punch? No, not creative enough. Silverware? No, don't want to kill her…yet.

As she ran down her somewhat pathetic list, she noticed Thomas and Faye sitting at a table together, laughing. At her.

"Did you see the look on her face?" cackled Faye. She then took a spoon and a work, flipped them around, stuck them up her nose and in a dopey voice said, "Look at me, I'm Rosalee! I wear fancy shoes and don't like people! Derp derp derp!" She then proceeded to clap her hands together and make Walrein noises.

Evil juices spurred in Rosalee's brain. She flung the wet napkin to the ground as her plan to get double the vengeance took form. She'd just have to wait.

Over at Liara and Volan's table, the awkward air had somewhat faded to a point where sparse conversation was made possible. Sparse yes, but not uncomfortable.

"I hear you like Flying-Type Pokémon," said Liara. She vividly recalled Veronica's first piece of conversational guidance. Well, second after _Don't be afraid to initiate conversation._

The other advice had been _Talk about him. That way, you won't have to search for common ground: he'll do that for you. Men are very easy to read._

Volan nodded, glad to see her intrigued. "That's right. My first Pokémon was a Pidove. Her name is Bernice. You know, I should introduce the two of you sometime. I think you'd get along well."

Liara blushed. Volan offered to introduce his Pokémon all the time, but this occasion was a bit more special.

And in one move, he was about to wreck it. Or at least make it easier for Rosalee.

Chair sliding back, Volan stood. "I'm gonna go see what's taking Ben with those drinks. Probably saw some pretty girl along the way and forgot we existed."

"I'd imagine so." He left, and Liara looked down at her lap, hand twisting and intertwining. Pure glee fluttered through her veins. She could barely breath.

Rosalee intended to capitalize on this. The second Volan left the table, Rosalee swiftly skated to Faye and Thomas's table. The two of them were quite confused, but Rosalee opened with a big smile.

"Hello you two, how is your plan going?"

Faye hesitated for a moment to try and identify Rosalee's intent. It was this split second that allowed Rosalee's plan to work. "It's going great!"

Liara's heart stopped. She almost choked as she heard this, and Girly Liara was shoved aside by Logic Liara, who started putting two and two together.

Volan had left. Faye said her plan was going well…

This whole thing was a joke. Volan didn't care about her. At some point in the evening he had probably contrived to aid Faye in embarrassing her. Veronica and the rest were probably in on it too. The initial steps had been to get her all dolled up and raise her hopes of actual connecting with a guy.

_S-stay in control, _she commanded herself, but was finding it harder and harder by the second. _You're an intellectual...y-you're not gonna...n-not gonna c-c-c-c..._

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!" _Liara burst from her chair, weeping profusely. She made a beeline straight for the door.

Faye quickly turned at the commotion. _What is she…_

Faye gasped. While she wasn't exactly book smart, she was quick witted, and one glance of the pleased expression on Rosalee's face as she watched Liara run effectively told her everything she needed to know.

Without warning, Faye stood abruptly. Face still bright with enthusiasm, Rosalee began to turn towards her just as the back of Faye's wedged sandal crashed down on Roalee's toes. There were several audible cracks. Rosalee squeaked and crumpled to the ground, clutching her foot.

Contorted in rage, Faye's face softened as she chased after Liara. "Liara, wait up! Liara!" A few girls who had just pieced together what had happen shot each other a few worried glances and joined the chase as well, hiking up their skirts and dresses and minding their elaborate footwear.

The mob of girls rapidly exiting the gymnasium was not exactly the signs of a fun party that Will and Tony were looking for as they entered, exchanging confused looks.

"I think that'd be a good sign to skedaddle," said Will. Tony concurred with a nod. But before either of the uncomfortable teens could make their escape, Mako firmly planted a palm in between both of their shoulder blades and shoved them forward.

"Oh, no you don't," Mako hissed as the boys struggled to regain balance, "I didn't drag you two nincompoops down here just to leave!"

Will spun around to give her what-for, but found his tongue pinned down at the bottom of his mouth. The lighting from the halls behind her couldn't have been more perfect to finally wake Will up to how beautiful she was tonight.

Or, in his eyes, at all. Will had settled comfortably in a strictly "friend" relationship with Mako over the years. In fact, neither of the two had truly been attracted to each other at any point. They both met in Icirrus City at the age of ten, connected through their mutual likes and lack of a father figure, and quickly became friends. Just friends.

But not tonight. When Will was usually around Mako, their friendship made him feel comfortable, like he could say or do anything whilst among friends (which really wasn't true. The two teased each other often).

It was different this time. Time seemed to slow down as he heart sped up. His lips were dry, but the moister didn't just disappear: it seemed to spring back up in his now clammy palms.

The un-smitten Tony brushed off his black pants and straightened his tie. "Alright, so you forced me to leave Lucky behind," he said crossly, scowling at Mako. "I assume that's because you're trying to hook me up with someone?"

"I dunno," she responded, innocent of face and devious of tone. "But we aren't in Pallet anymore, Toto. Step one to making new friends is, well, just trying."

The blonde thrust his arm at the tallest of the three. "Will's my friend! Isn't that right?"

"Huh? Oh!" Will shook his head. A glazed looked at set over his eyes as he had lost himself in thought. Precious, wondrous thought. "Yeah, totally dude, I…ahem."

Will's voice cracked and he began to sweat. He began to whistle and swing his arms back and forth. "What? What are you guys lookin' at."

Mako rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her temple. _These two are hopeless…_

Kinda ironic what she's saying right now, huh?

"C'mon, Will," sighed Mako, taking her friend's hand. Zapdos itself might as well have touched him, for the jolt sent through Will's body was rivaled by no Pokémon had ever come in contact. The nervous teens' feet seemed magnetically locked to the floor as Mako pulled him away.

"W-where, ahem." Will's voice cracked once again, a sign of nervousness Mako knew all too well from the time they spent together as children. However, the music provided adequate cover for Will's panic noises. And he was sure there would be more to come. "W-where are we going…?"

"To the dance floor, silly. We're gonna make Tony a little jealous so maybe he'll decide to put on his Big Boy Shoes and ask someone," she said, looking back at him. Mako smiled warmly, her eyes showing no ill contempt or attraction at all.

That didn't help Will's nervousness. Not in the slightest.

They were getting closer and closer. First they passed the tables, then the clusters of students just on the edge of the dance floor, not entirely prepared to enter. That was about the border of Will's comfort zone.

_Great! _He thought as Mako lead him to the dead-center of the gym. _Bad enough we're going at all! Now we have to go to the center!_

Will sighed and resorted to his last line of defense. _Arceus, _he prayed to the heavens, _I know we don't talk much but, uh…if you could just prevent that from happening, that'd be great. Anything, really. Just let me not have to dance…_

Quite instantly, the entire building shook. Students screamed in terror and jumped back as an enormous hole was blasted in the ceiling, a cloud of dust and debris clattering noisly onto the floor.

Winter, along with the other monitors of the dance, were alerted instantly. Students were not allowed to be accompanied by Pokémon, but just in case a few were smuggled in an a fight broke out, the chaperones had theirs to break it up.

And of course they were there to make sure that the kids minded themselves. Prepared thought for something crashing through the ceiling: not so much.

Mako shrieked as she one of her heels snapped, and she fell onto her rear. Will bent over immediately to help her up when a loud metal _CLANG _emanated from behind him.

Forgetting Mako for a moment, Will straightened back up and stared into the dust cloud. As the creature tromped out, a sense of fear rivaling even that of an attractive female swirled through Will's veins.

The purple insectoid's head slowly swiveled from left to right, examining all of the humans before him, petrified with fear.

Will recognized the machine, and the machine certainly recognized Will. It's head snapped back into center view as it scanned Will, droves of data scrolling through his eyes.

_"TARGET IDENTIFIED: CASSIUS GREY. POWER RATING: ELEVEN. THREAT LEVEL: MINIMUM. TARGET MATCH: 50 PER-BZZT!" _Genesect's head twitched and blue sparks flared on his neck. His eyes blinked twice.

_"100%" _it buzzed. Several more students screamed as Genesect's mounted cannon detached from his back and set itself up above his head. Some sought cover behind tables. Others made a run for it. Genesect paid them no mind: he only had one target in mind. _"PREPARING TO FIRE."_

Red laser dots began to appear on Will's person: one on his forehead, one on his stomach, one on each of his shoulders, and one on each of his knees. The lights slowly began to creep towards one another until they had reached a central location: his chest.

"Huh," choked the petrified boy, though considerably less petrified than when Mako had been holding his hand. "Well…this stinks."

_"FIRING."_

* * *

**Over 100 reviews before even double-didget chapters...whaaaaaaaaat? Thanks for all your support!**

**Well, Harking has a Genesect. I guess she's, like, 100% more dangerous now. Plus the fact that it's gone crazy and wants to kill Will's father for some reason, and thinks its him.**

**Loki: We have an army!**

**Harkin: I have a Genesect.**

**Uh-oh...lot's 'o trouble. Rosalee stomped on Liara's date, Faye stomped on Rosalee's toes, and Genesect stomped through the ceiling. Plenty of stuff broken, and much more to come! Stay tuned for next time!**

**Just a quick thing first: I fully plan to do an X and Y fanfic featuring Will once I finish the game, though I still need a title...meh, I'll think of it later. My point being that I have a poll going on who Will should start off with, and hope you guys all weigh in on that!**

**All being said, I'll seeya next class! Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10: Do the Robot

Volan was sweating profusely as he navigated the empty hallways leading to the girls' dorms.

Not that it was a long or difficult walk or anything like that. While he didn't do anything wrong (to his knowledge) Volan was very, very afraid that he had hurt Liara in some way.

They had only known each other for about a day, and he wasn't, like…_into _her or anything, but it still wouldn't be right to leave her like that.

Volan finally reached the dorm shared by Liara and Faye, A-090, and rapped his knuckles lightly on the aging wood. Roxanne answered, scrunching her freckled nose in anger at the sight of him.

"Oh, it's _you_," snarled the short girl, leaning up against the doorframe. Volan tried to peek inside, but Roxanne still managed to block him despite the height difference. "You know, she really thought you were different. We all did."

Before Volan could respond a loud, willow sob sprang from behind Roxanne. The redhead let her guard slip for a split second, allowing Volan to step in.

Comforting Liara were Faye and Veronica, with the un-confrontational Grace twiddling her thumbs on the adjacent bed looking ashamed.

Liara was a mess. Her lipstick was smeared; Volan suspected the red smudges on the back of her hand were the result. Mascara ran down in black streaks down her cheeks, and wadded up tissues covered the bed and her lap. There was an opened carton of ice cream next to her.

Grace hopped to her feet. "Volan," she said softly, "Maybe you should-"

"Oh," croaked Liara, shoving aside Faye and Ronnie. "It's _you_!" her head was tilting from side to side and her lips tripped over every word.

"I-is she-?"

"Sugar high," informed Grace while Liara tried to gain a simple footing, but tripped over her own two feet and landed on the other bed. "Or rather, sugar low. She doesn't handle stuff like soda and candy too well."

"I guess that explains the ice cream," said Volan. Seeing Liara in this state made him feel even guiltier.

"She actually just started the ice cream. Faye's secret stash of candy went first…"

Liara finally managed to stagger over to Volan. She stabbed a forefinger at her date, intending to hit his chest but instead jabbing the air next to his left shoulder. She grumbled to herself and poked him successfully.

"My mother was *hic* right about yooooou." Liara wiped some drool off of her face with the back of her wrist. "You lawyers are all the same. I *hic* should've gone for the gardener! At least he treated me like a _woman_!"

Volan looked nervously to the other girls for support. Faye had spilled the beans about it truly being Rosalee's fault so they weren't angry at him. Instead they all just felt bad for Liara.

"She, uh, kinda thinks she's a small town girl named Beverly Carlson trying to make it big in the male dominated corporate Unova," informed Veronica while nervously scratching the back of her head. "She's also convinced that you lied to her to make the company gardener look bad, took her out on a candlelit dinner atop the highest building in Castelia City, and then broke her heart to emotionally unbalance her for the big meeting tomorrow, in which she'd have taken your job."

"How much candy did she _eat_!?"

Liara fell down to her knees before a small plastic garbage pail and lurched forward. Horrible, horrible slushing noises ensued.

Faye leaned over and looked into the pail. Shivering, she said, "Considerably less now."

Smoothing his hair back, Volan knelt down behind Liara. He reached out a hand to touch her, but then retracted it. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to say, _"Liara, I'm sorry for whatever you think I did." _Something romantic like that.

Instead he said, "Beverly, your mother was right: I _don't _deserve you. I was rude, filthy, two-faced Swinub and I'm sorry. I'm not gonna say that I can change: I'm not sure if I can. But I promise that I'll try, if you just give me the chance. This job, the money, it…it just scared me. Made me afraid that you'd take my position. But now I see that what I'm about, and what you're about, and that Mr. Hadley favored you for a reason. I didn't want to believe it, but now I do."

Liara sniffled. "Really? You'd change for *hic* me, Zeke?"

Volan nodded. "Absolutely." He opened his arms wide, and Liara eagerly embraced him.

Roxanne and Veronica had watched the entire time as Volan risked making a complete fool of himself just to make Liara feel better. He had really gotten into the role, too!

"Think he's the one for her?" Roxanne asked the taller girl.

"Oh yeah. Definitely." Veronica smiled as Liara slumped down in Volan's arms, actually asleep. _She must've felt comfortable._

Faye stretched her legs and slid off of the bed. "Well, that was touching. I wonder what's going on down at the dance?"

…

_Down at the dance…_

Instinct barged in unannounced, and thankfully so. Will hit the deck so hard that he'd probably have broken his chin if the ground had been any harder. The red bolt of energy shot from Genesect's blaster sailed right through where he had been standing, and incinerated a table instead of his skull.

Will had no time to collect himself. Genesect raised a heavy metal foot to squash Will's head. Will rolled to the side, once again avoiding death in the nick of time.

Over at the far end of the gymnasium, Matthew Williams and Ellie Morris reached for their Pokèballs with great urgency. The two took off for the dance floor, but Ellie tripped suddenly over her high heels and fell quite clumsily to the floor.

"This is ridiculous," she growled and kicked off the heels. "Why did I let Nicole talk me into dressing like a freaking doll!? She didn't even come!"

Ellie loathed girly clothing; having been on a journey herself she had come to appreciate outdoor clothes. Comfortable footwear, ruined jeans, T-Shirts. A Trainer's clothes were the clothes for her.

Unfortunately the dance was black-tie only, and those teachers who volunteered to chaperone were given a small bonus in that week's pay. So Ellie figured, what the heck?

She gave the kids the benefit of the doubt that it would be a fun evening for all. Her only job really was to make sure that no one got too personal and that no Pokémon left any smuggled in Pokèballs.

She had not, however, counted on A). Matthew's slight yet irritating teasing, and B). Crazy death robot crashing through the ceiling.

Matt grinned and nudged her on the arm. "Careful, sweetheart. Don't wanna break a nail, do we?"

"Right now I may be dressed like a girl, but I hit like a man," she growled. Ellie wanted to stomp on his foot to prove her point but remembered her shoes had been ditched. She instead resolved to just shove him back.

_"TARGET RE-ACQUIRED!" _Genesect pointed his blaster down at the now far more vulnerable Will, who was trying to pick himself up off the floor. Mako, further back on the ground, shrieked.

Matthew jolted. "Oh, right. Alex, let's go!"

"You too, Pikachu!"

Two balls of light exploded into a Zangoose and a Pikachu. Alex, the Zangoose, gnashed his claws together and snarled. The electric mouse's cheeks fizzled with energy.

Genesect gave zero hoots. The robotic insectoid continued his approach of the Grey boy for a clean kill.

Ellie noticed this and cringed. "Ignore me, eh? Pikachu, get its attention! Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUU!" An arc of lightning shot from the small yet powerful creature's body. It crackled across the gymnasium and struck Genesect. For a brief moment the entire room was illuminated by white light. The attack faded, leaving Genesect crackling with electricity.

And completely unscathed. Leaving Will alone for a moment, Genesect turned around to scan the newcomers. In his moment of distraction, Harvey and Ben dashed over to Will, grabbing his arms and helping him up.

_"SCANNING: ZANGOOSE, CAT FERRET POKÉMON. POWER RATING: SEVENTY TWO. PIKACHU: ELECTRIC MOUSE POKÉMON. POWER RATING: EIGHTY EIGHT."_

"What!?" cried Mathew like he was arguing with an official call at a sporting event. "How come her number is bigger than mine!?"

"Shut _up_, Matthew!"

"I'm just saying, I-"

"I said _shut up_! Students' lives are at stake!"

"Oh. Right, that." Matthew cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "Alright, everyone! Everything is under control! Clear out and get back to your rooms!"

Not many students needed any more convincing. A sea of bodies flowed towards the doors, eager to leave the carnage behind.

They slammed shut. With no warning, both automatic doors clammed up. One boy ran ahead to try and open pry them open. They wouldn't budge.

Up in the ramparts, one of the spotlights flickered. It turned from bright white to orange, and out popped the tear shaped specter. It snickered at the chaos bellow as students panicked and two teachers faced down a sociopathic robot. A very entertaining night to say the least.

Genesect stomped towards Ellie, Matt, and their Pokémon, but then stopped. Its head whirled around three hundred and sixty degrees. Its scanning reticle darted from Ben, then to Harvey, and then to Will.

_"TARGET ESCAPING. FIFTEEN METERS."_

"Hey! We're the real threat here!" protested Matthew, jabbing a thumb at his chest.

Genesect considered Matthew for a moment. His head almost immediately swiveled back around.

_"EIGHTEEN METERS…NINTEEN METERS…"_

Matthew moaned dejectedly. "Tch, know what! This'll be my first lesson! Never turn your back on an opponent! Alex, use Quick Attack to get in close!"

"Goose!" roared Alex. The Zangoose dropped onto all fours and charged the synthetic attacker. A glowing white trail was left in its wake.

Genesect moved the extermination of its current target to the side for a moment in favor of focusing on the extermination of lesser being.

The purple clad Pokémon held firm, scanning Zangoose as it bore down on the soon-to-be target. Genesect factored in its speed, weight, velocity, power, and a great number of other factors to create a subroutine.

_"APPROPRIATING RESPONSE_," buzzed Genesect, just as Alex reached leaping distance. It did so, and Genesect sprung its trap.

_"EXECUTING RESPONSE." _Genesect's torso swiveled one hundred and eighty degrees to the side. Its right claw separated into its three fingered form, and Genesect spun back around. The centrifugal force accumulated from spinning gave Genesect just the correct amount of force to send Alex flying into the side wall after slamming a claw into the Zangoose's face, right at the precise moment.

Ellie was in awe. She had barely even _blinked _in the time it took for that monster to take Alex out of the fight. Alex was in equal horror, though Ellie suspected he was more worried about his Pokémon than strategy.

Acting out of blind desperation, Ellie ordered an attack. "Pikachu, Volt Tackle while its guard is down!"

Her Pikachu leapt forth, barreling towards Genesect. Electricity bristled in its fur and Pikachu burst into a comet of lightning.

_"RE-EXECUTING RESPONSE_._" _They might as well have not been trying. This time with the other arm, Genesect used the exact same maneuver to slam Pikachu into the opposing wall than Alex had been introduced to.

_"INTERFERENCE STATUS: ELIMINATED. PROCEEDING FORMER MOTIVE: bzzt…EXTERMINATE CASSIUS GREY!"_

Will, now hiding with Harvey, Mako and Ben behind an overturned table, gulped. That thing had effortlessly wiped out two of the teachers' Pokémon. He had none, and even if he did, Will suspected the same result would most likely be present.

Hiding behind another overturned table across the way was Marco and Hunter. Both flipped around in horror at the sound of clicking on the floor, but let loose a collective sigh of relief once they saw it was Gabby.

In her hand she clutched a white ball of sticky rice. Well, about seventy five percent of one. A good twenty percent had likely gone down her gullet based on the bite on the top, and another five stuck stubbornly to her face.

"You idiot! What are you doing?" hissed Hunter. She swatted the taller girl on the back of the head.

"Ow!" whispered the blonde, rubbing her head. "Before this robot guy started attacking, I made a deal with some other students. They gave me this jelly donut in exchange for some of Faye's candy!"

Marco frowned at the food in Gabby's hand. "Gabby, that's rice ball."

"It is!? Those four kids lied to me…" said Gabby in disbelief. Her world was being turned upside down at the moment.

A yellow bolt of energy exploded against the top of the table Will and the other two were hiding behind, eliciting a shriek from Hunter. Out of concern for their safety, he wrapped his hands around her mouth. He'd apologize later.

Mako, on the other hand, could use some help along those lines. She had gone into shock long ago. Her eyes bulged from their sockets. Her hair was in disarray. The only thing keeping her from freaking out completely was the steely clamp she kept around her mouth.

_CLOMP…CLOMP…_

Genesect began to advance slowly, scanning the room as it did. The attack from the Pikachu had all but fried its tracking systems, of all things. Genesect would have to do this the old fashioned way.

Students cowered and slunk away from its swiveling gaze if no cover was available. If it was, like heck they'd be showing their faces.

_CLOMP…CLOMP…_

Harvey crossed his fingers. _"There's nothing here…" _he chanted inside of his head, as if he were issuing some sort of console command that would call off the homicidal android seeking their heads.

_CLOMP…CLOMP…_

_"Just turn around…we aren't here! It's a waste of time!" _Harvey squeezed his eyes shut. _Just leave us alone!"_

_CLOMP…_

Silence. Harvey could not see around the table, but the halt of Genesect's advance was the best unspoken news he hadn't heard all night. Harvey let out a faint sigh of relief.

Genesect let out a booming metallic roar and seized the table. Flinging it to the side, it shattered into a thousand pieces against a support column, thus leaving Will, Ben, Harvey, and Mako exposed.

Mako lost it. Her hands fell down from her mouth and fear took over. She let out a terrified shriek that, if just for a moment, jostled Genesect's circuits.

Shaking its head rapidly, Genesect restored functionality and raised its pike like arm, poised to strike at Will's chest.

_PINK PINK PINK!_

Three tiny yellow explosions popped on Genesect's head. The purple machine was forced back two steps and directed its attention to the source of the interruption.

Both hands clasped around her heavy pistol, Winter fixed Genesect with a stare icy enough to frost even _its_ boiling circuits.

"Step…away…from them," she growled, jerking her pistol to the left. After all the years it took for her to become the seasoned, disciplined solider of the law that she was, demanding a surrender was what Winter knew the book demanded, and so it was just what she'd do.

Winter was no wild card, that was for sure. She wasn't a loose cannon. Winter played by the rules, and it never served her wrong.

Winter had never fought Genesect before.

In mere fractions of a second, Genesect had computed its options. Surrender had a logical rating of .0000003 percent. Attack, however, was exponentially higher.

Genesect's blaster turret flipped back over its head and hummed to life. Left to her own resources, Winter would have had no time to react.

Luckily, Will had his own resources as well. Rage and adrenaline shot through his bloodstream, seizing control of him. Will simultaneously grabbed a discarded steak knife as he shot to his feet.

"NO!" he cried, bringing the blade in a downward arc. He met quick, hard resistance, but his blade quickly found its way out.

The purple gun turret clattered to the ground, wires sparking. Now empty and useless, its mount folded down onto Genesect's back.

As he hadn't quite thought the whole ordeal through, the gravity of Will's actions sort of came flooding to him.

He stared at the dagger in his hands, a smile slowly spreading onto his face.

"Woohoo!" he cheered. "Genesect ain't got no fire-ack!"

Genesect didn't quite appreciate Will's defiance, nor his incessant cheering. Silver spike driving through the collar of Will's shirt, it hefted the boy into the air. Genesect's eyes began to glow red.

_Laser eyes, _Will thought sarcastically, _Of _course _it has laser eyes._

As per regulations, Genesect continued to scan Will as it prepared to fire its eye beams and end the hunt. But as the continued scan and information logging of target marked, _"CASSIUS GREY," _something occurred.

At first it seemed like a tiny system glitch. A momentary flux. Genesect went to correct the error…

_VYYYYYOOOOOOOooooommmmm…_

Genesect's grip on Will suddenly slackened, its arm falling limp to its side. The purple Clampearl-shaped head became void of any and all light, dropping to Genesect's chest.

Five seconds ago, Genesect had been an unstoppable killing machine. Now, it was a hunk of purple metal on the floor.

"Is it…over?" whispered Hunter.

"Ha!" jeered Gabby. The blonde jumped to her feet and flung what remained of her rice ball at Genesect's face. "Chew on _that_, you overweight toaster! Who's the superior life form now!?"

Genesect's eyes blinked twice. _"SYSTEM REBOOT STATUS: COMPLETE."_

An ear-piercing screech shook the air as Genesect folded its body into a square shape, and just as quickly as it had come, blasted off through the hole it made in the roof.

And for the first time all night, blessed silence. A few glasses tinkled as they rolled on the floor. Several small pieces of ceiling clattered to the ground.

But other than that, there were no sounds.

"Yeesh. That was one takeoff noise," groaned Ben, rubbing his ear.

"That wasn't the machine," growled Winter. Teeth chattering, eyes as wide as saucers, clinging to Winter's leg, was Gabby.

* * *

**Phew, it's good to be back with this story! Sorry about the absence, guys! Things have just been busy as of late. But, I'm back on track, and am well under way writing the next few chapters, wherein classes begin!**

**Students: Aww...**

**Quiet, you. Anyway, these chapters will be a bit shorter than a usual EA chapter, and have a few different scenes of what's going on in classes. Of course, we'll still have longer story chapters every once in a while, but as a general rule I've been toning down my word count in most of my stories. With my schedule, really long chapters are becoming a bit too hard to manage. Sorry!**

**Speaking of my stories, I've began a fanfiction chronicling what I consider to be the cannon adventure of my Pokemon OC, William Grey. It's called "Pokemon Gold and Silver: The Adventure of Will." Why not check it out if you have a minute?**

**So, next time, I'll be trying to wrap up getting in any OCs I haven't already. The special submission I requested is still on (check a few chapters back for info on that) and next time, you'll be finding out just why.**

**See you next class! Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	11. Chapter 11: Class Is In Session!

**Ehehe...remember when I said class chapter will be shorter? Well...see, the beginning portion of this chapter, which has to do with the overarching story, I had written a while ago, and I've been trying to fit it in ever since. It's kinda necessary. So, yeah, should be shorter chapters after this. **

**And I'm also sorry if updates are as frequent as I made them seem like they'd be, but things have just been kinda busy as of late...sorry! There are just some things I can't help!**

**But let's forget about those things for now and delve back into this world so many of you guys love (thanks for the support, btw!). Today, we've got two new OCs from Symmetry Obsessed Shinigami and longtime reviewer of mine, sonofthetrigod. Thanks for the support, guys, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: TrainerNaps does not own Pokemon. Or Star Wars. Or _The Great_**_** Gatsby**._

* * *

Cruising through the omnipresent field of fog southeast of Unova known as The Veil, the bandit airship _Sirius _drifted somewhat aimlessly, as sluggish as the mist surrounding it.

_Sirius _was an old Loggerhead-class frigate, somewhat akin to the line of train that shared the same name. Truly, it looked like a massive blue steam engine, only slimmer, longer, no smoke stack, and a heck of a lot bigger.

Of course, with other modifications. The trio of ion engine breathed blue fire from behind, keeping the massive craft aloft, along with the twin fuel pods protruding next to them.

The ship was a good three hundred meters in length, and was surprisingly light if you didn't factor in the cargo, bulky modifications and massive energy cannon on the top.

But of course, it was a pirate ship, so it had all of those things.

And no, it wasn't nearly as awesome as Hunter J's ship, the _Lockjaw_, but its captain liked to beg to differ. In truth, he even saw himself as a sort of "anti-Hunter J," the very answer for her existence. Her self-proclaimed rival.

Like J's ship, _Sirius _had its own unique cast of characters on the bridge. First off was Jennifer Pitne, a petite young woman with a round face, periwinkle eyes and a splash of freckles on her nose.

Pitne was an ingenious hacker, and was in charge of all computerized functions onboard. She had caught the captain's attention during a little stunt she pulled back in high school.

In her schooling days, Pitne had been a social outcast, and a group of more popular girls were giving her a very hard time, coming up with inside jokes with Pitne as the comical value and even laughing about them while she was around.

So, in an effort to listen in on what they were saying behind her back, Pitne hacked into Air Force satellites to have a little look-see in regards to texts and cell phone conversations. When that wasn't enough and Pitne was pushed to the edge, a little binary chat with the base computer sent a squadron of fighter jets on a mission to destroy the bullies' homes.

Luckily, the error was corrected in time and four high school girls were not strafed by war planes. Pitne was caught and sent to a maximum security juvenile detention facility, where the captain sprung her several years later with an offer to join his crew.

Next was Sydney Orion, one of the captains most valued poachers. Before the captain offered him an annual paycheck, Orion would capture rare Pokémon for the highest bidder: he was a favorite amongst collectors.

His greatest job to date had been in Sinnoh, where he blackmailed the daughter of the owner of the Trophy Garden to allow him to reap the rare Pokémon from the garden, else he'd reveal her secret romance with the son of a rival companies' CEO.

Every day, Orion would arrive disguised as a gardener, and would present the thirsty guard with a coffee beverage to prevent any suspicion. But one day, he grabbed the wrong cup at the counter of the coffee shop. The guard noticed it was decaffeinated, unlike what he normally ordered, and actually looked at Sydney for once. He was busted.

The chief mechanic onboard _Sirius_, Nikola Pym, had been a brilliant yet tragically misunderstood inventor. The design for his Pokémon Storage System had wretchedly been stolen by a person who he had at the time considered a close friend, the famed Bill.

Enraged, he set off to work on creating something to put Bill to shame; a machine that could transfer any amount matter over any distance. Being that he still lived in his parent's basement, his chief test subject had been his younger sister, Jane.

The machine worked, but only over short distances, and it did have some bugs that needed working out. Jane was fine…well, physically. Long story short, she just learned how to eat with a fork again.

Pym was arrested by the Celadon City Police Department during the crackdown on the Team Rocket criminal syndicate, after access to their computers had revealed that he had sold his prototype device to Giovanni for use in Team Rocket bases.

And finally, there was the first mate, Collin Anderson. Collin didn't truly have some wacky criminal backstory. He had been enlisted in the Kantoan army and felt that his tactical genius wasn't being utilized to its full potential. So he deserted and joined up with the captain, seeking a challenge for his intellect.

Right now, he stared out of the massive bridge window at the bow of the ship, grey eyes scanning through the fog for what they had been sent to find.

"Anything yet?" he asked, not needing to look at her for Pitne to realize she was being addressed.

Pitne twirled a plump finger in one of her many brown curls. "Not yet…scanners are as blind as you are. Sonars got nothin. Same with radar."

"Well obviously, sweetheart," said Orion in his trademarked "Down-Under" drawl. "If I was these blokes, I wouldn't be jammin' around singin' the Johto National Anthem over the radar, now would I? As a hunter I can with surety classify this here thicket as a _hidin' place_."

Pitne crumpled up a random piece of paper and chucked it at the wisecracking hunter leaned up against the door. With lightning reflexes he whipped off his red hat and swatted the projectile away. He flashed a pearly white smile and plopped the sunhat back atop his long blonde locks.

Anderson sighed and pushed his glasses further up his beaklike nose. _Such children…_

Without warning, the metal door whooshed open, depriving Orion of a something to lean on. The muscular figure walking through shoved him onto the ground and kept going.

And when I say muscular, I'm talking _ripped_. The sleeves of his brown leather jacket were completely removed to give his beefy arms some breathing room. His massive pecks kept his shirt from hugging his six pack abs too cloesly.

The man wore a simple pair of camo pants and combat boots, with a gnarly dagger strapped to each. His red hair extended down to his shoulders, with a pretty impressive fu manchu adorning his upper lip.

This man was no other than Hunter Skadge, the infamous rival of Hunter J.

Orion sat up and rubbed his head. "Didn't have ta do that, Cap'n."

The ship's comm specialist, a redhead named Samantha Chambers, stood up stiffly and saluted. "Captain on deck!"

Pitne giggled at the show of obedience. For her, a long-time member of the crew, it was rather adorable. Like a Lillipup balancing a ball on its nose for its master. "Oh, I love rookies so much…hey, remember Leroy?"

"The bloke who ran us right into that ambush in Hoenn?" asked Orion, dusting himself off. "Yeah, I got a scar that reminds me a 'im every day when I sit down."

"If only he had stuck to the plan…"

Skadge halted next to Anderson and stared out into the fog along with him without a word of greeting, arms crossed. "Anything yet?" he growled.

"Not yet, sir," said Anderson, trying his best to lighten up what he honestly should've been saying, _"We've been out here for hours, have burned thousands worth of fuel, and still haven't found anything!"_ Skadge was a very impatient man. Better to butter up the details instead.

Skadge growled and ground his teeth together. "Get the Oracle up here, now!"

"The Oracle" was the crew's nickname for the final real character on Skadge's team: a mercenary named Quell. Nobody knows where she came from, or exactly when (or why) she exploded onto the scene, but she sure did just that.

The first known sighting of the woman in the technologically advanced armor that put even J's to shame was on a mission wherein if she had not shown, Skadge and Orion would've been dead. The two were attempting to capture a Shiny Charizard in Kanto, and the beast had them cornered.

All of a sudden, a woman in black armor somersaulted onto the creature's back and utilized a relatively unknown weak spot on the back of the it's head, underneath its horns, to knock it out.

After making that stellar intro, the woman introduced herself simply as Quell, and got right to the point in making Skadge an offer: allow her to join his crew, and they'd both profit immensely.

At the time, what _she _specifically stood to gain from the deal had been a mystery. And today, it still was.

Quell earned her nickname quickly, and for one specific reason: she was never wrong. Arrival times for Pokémon transfers on a bullet train? Had ticket info memorized. Codes for a bank vault? Knew every single digit. Appearances of rare Pokémon? Down to the very blade of grass they stood on upon emergence.

It was theorized that Quell could see the future, and that the helmet and visor that usually covered her face were to compensate for weak eyes, or to cover up the fact that she had none at all. Avid (and sometimes just downright weird) speculation was common amongst the crew of _Sirius._

No one knew what she truly looked like, but were given hints that pointed to female: the bottom of her face was visible, from her lips down, and her suit seemed to be crafted to account for feminine features..

The doors whooshed open once more, and this time Orion made double sure that he was clear when they did.

Boots clanking as she walked to where Skadge and Anderson stood, the commanding and mysterious form of Quell paid nothing else any mind as she walked. Though that was a brash assumption to make. Behind that visor, anything was possible.

"Sir," she said, stopped behind him and Anderson, hands clasped behind her back, "You summoned me?"

Skadge shrugged casually. "Yes, see, it's a simple matter really, but WHY ARE WE STILL HERE!?" Skadge fumed, his face turning bright red, nostrils puffing. "WE'VE BEEN ON THIS LITTLE FIELD TRIP FOR SEVENTEEN HOURS! CAN THAT COMPUTER SUIT OF YOURS POSSIBLY FATHOM TO THE EXACT DEGREE OF WHAT MOMUNMENTAL WASTE OF TIME THIS HAS BEEN!?"

Quell was completely unfazed by the outburst. Even Pitne, who was a good six feet away, found herself nursing wounded eardrums.

"I can bring up the exact figure if you wish, sir."

"NO, I JUST WISH YOU WOULD TELL ME WHY-WE'RE-HEEEEEERE!"

Veins on Skade's neck pulsed, and Anderson rolled his eyes. _He does get ever so worked up…_

Quell responded by raising her arm so that the forearm was lined up with her eyes, a paneled flipped up, which she tapped several times.

"Well, sir, if you would just be so patient as to wait elven seconds-"

"Listen Quell, you've never steered me wrong before, but if I don't have results in ten seconds-"

"Eight…seven…six…"

Skadge groaned mentally. _For the sake of my blood pressure, this had better be worth it…_

"Three…two…one…" The panel flipped back into Quell's arm and she pointed out the window. "Look."

Anderson and Skadge turned back around. Surely enough, the shadowy outline of a far smaller ship was visible, ambling along as if coked by the fog.

Pitne sat up in her seat suddenly. "Sir, there's a small Gulpin-class transport ship registering on the-"

"I know, I know," barked Skadge, waving his hand at her. "Quell, what's on that ship?"

Quell stepped up next to the captain. "If I stall to explain, sir, they will get away. But I assure you it is entirely worthwhile to capture that ship and its passengers."

"Why?" giggled Pitne, "Do you get the feeling that Skywalker is on that ship?"

Quell glared at Pitne, causing the chubby woman to choke on her own tongue. Behind her visor, Quell's eyes could not be seen, but Pitne was sure that they were empty and unforgiving.

"No…but it is someone of interest to our cause." Quell stared out the bridge window defiantly as _Sirius _drew closer and closer. "Finally…it's about time we met again… Jaclyn Grey."

A separate panel flipped out of her armlet, several faces on the touchscreen. Beneath them was a green bar, about ninety percent full. Quell tapped Jaclyn's picture. It became transparent, the bar inched forward just a tad.

"One down…" The panel flipped back into her arm. "Six to go…"

…

Sunlight slowly stretched her yellow rays through the open windows of Dorm A-033. The warmth and radiance spread across the bed of Gabrielle Eastham, politely inquiring if her body would mind waking up.

A rare occurrence indeed; Gabby stirred with a smile on her face. All the makings of a perfect morning were present: sunlight, a good night's sleep passed, the promise of pancakes. Though something seemed amiss…

Yawning, Gabby stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. Time to make the most of this wonderful, wonderful day.

"Ah…" Gabby shifted upwards into a sitting position. Her slight movement was enough to rouse Rosalie, who had already been in the process of awakening.

"Morning," chirped the smaller blonde, reaching over to her nightstand to grab her glasses. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good, can't complain though. I had this really weird dream though…the dance got attacked by a robot insect thingy, and it almost killed Will, and I think I even wet myself at the end…"

Rosalie stifled a giggle, causing Gabby to squint her eyes at her roommate.

"What's _that _ supposed to mean?" she hissed conspicuously.

"Uh…what would you say if I told you that all of that _wasn't _a dream…?"

Gabby gulped. "A-all of it? Even-"

Rosalie nodded.

"Dang it…"

"Also, classes start this morning."

"DANG IT!"

…

_Eterna Academy School Day 1_

_Drama _

"~Good morning, class~!" said the Drama teacher, Ms. Espyn, in her usual sing-songy voice. Emma Espyn, also the Chorus instructor, cheerfully addressed her class of fifteen.

As it was morning, the students didn't look too thrilled to be there (or awake at all) but Emma suspected that would soon change once they got into the swing of things.

"Now, as I hoped you've noted from the course organizer that Ms. Sachman was kind enough to pass out, we will be starting off the year with the basics of thespianism and the theatrical arts, and then moving on to some of the classics, portions of which you will be responsible for memorizing and performing in class. Your final exam in this class will be based upon your performance in the school play, of which participation is mandatory."

Rosalee sighed and leaned on her elbow. _"Blah, blah, blah, can this lady talk or what!? When can we just get onto me showing these losers up? I can't wait until I finally get to put them in her place…_

Pain flashed in casted foot, almost as an automatic reminder. _As soon as I crush that little brat who broke my foot…_

The grumpy teen almost instinctively looked to Rosalee, who smiled and waved. Pity, the girl _actually _thought they were friends baed solely on Rosalee's relationship with her half-sister.

A delightful prospect popped into her mind. _Especially her…_

"-into modern translations." Despite Rosalee's venture into her own little world, Ms. Espyn had continued her beginning of the year monologue regardless.

She cleared her throat. "Now, I do believe that I have my mind set on the production that will become our school play, but…" She bit her lip and looked unsurely at her students.

"What's wrong, Ms. E?" asked Gabby.

"Well, I have the utmost faith in each and every one of you students, but…I fear we may be just a few gentlemen short of filling all the necessary parts…" This was really no new prospect to Emma. There was always a shortage of guys in the theater department.

Usually she could sneak a lady into a male role and wrap that up nicely, but it didn't always work out. These old plays were written in a time where men were the majority of actors, and now it had come back to bite modern directors in the rear.

In the back row, a tall, sturdily built senior with brownish black hair made a show of flexing his arms and yawning. "Don't you worry, Ms. T. _I _can play as many roles as you need. Heck, I could do the whole show!"

A couple of girls giggled at his playful ignorance. Even Emma found herself grinning at the young man's attempt to light up the darkened situation.

"Thank you, Luke, but I think we'll need a slightly more abrasive solution."

Veronica raised her hand. "So, Ms. Espyn, what you're basically saying is that if we get more guys to take part in the play, we're all set?"

"I suppose so," replied Emma, scratching her chin. "What do you have in mind, Ms. Peyton?"

"I may know a couple of knuckleheads who owe me some favors." Veronica grinned and recalled the scene back in Liara's dorm. "Well, at least _one_…"

…

_Hatching and Parental Care_

Ari continued to twirl a lock of her strawberry blond hair around her index finger. Boredom was pretty much dictating her every move at this point.

One of the main reasons Ari had picked Hatching and Parental Care was for the useful lessons that she could take with her in her career as a doctor, yes, but also due to hearing that is was a very laid back and boring class.

Pretty much the entire course was getting an Egg, waiting for it to hatch, and then repeating, with a few other things in between.

But there was no boring professor to lull her to sleep. At the moment, there was no professor at all. It was about fifteen minutes into class and their instructor had yet to arrive.

Squishing her books into a hard yet suitable pillow, Ari prepared to nap until the professor arrived. Or indefinitely.

Probably the second one.

"You thinkin' the same thing I am?"

Ari gritted her teeth. _This had better be the dang president…_

Lifting her head, she came face to face with an olive skinner junior; a particular olive skinned junior that she had been trying to muster up the courage to talk to for an entire year.

Leo Historia had been Ari's crush since freshman year. Everything about him was perfect in her eyes. His scruffy black hair was just the kind that she had grown attracted to after all of her years growing up on the farm. Leo had a pair of onyx eyes that made midnight look pale (and Ari as well, when she looked into them that is).

Ari and Leo had been in the same HPC class last years, except Leo had sat in the seat in front of her. If you were to dig up Ari's HPC notebook from last year (which she made sure to keep) you'd find more doodles of Leo than notes on eggs.

Looks like there'd be none of that this year…

"H-hi…"she stammered, completely flustered, "Last year I watched-"

_DANG IT!_ Ari was known for her rashness in not always thinking things all the way through. And when she was love-struck? Forget about it.

"The…uh…introduction video…with you…" came Ari with the pathetic save, "Remember…you were there…so technically we watched it together…"

Under the desk, she crossed her sweaty fingers and bit her lip.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense if you think about it that-"

"Sup, geeks!"

In through the door strode Melody Joy, looking very out of place in her pristine school uniform.

"Nurse Joy?" inquired Ari, forgetting briefly about Leo, "Did I forget something in your office?"

Melody plopped down in the chair behind the teacher's desk and checked the drawers. "Nope, doesn't look like it," she said, shaking her head.

"Wait…does that mean…?"

"Yup! I'm teaching this class! Isn't that great!?"

Ari stomach churned and color flooded her face. _Oh, this ain't good…_

After discovering the fact that her chair could rotate three hundred and sixty degrees, and enjoying that fact for a moment or two, Melody slid the chair towards her computer and began to type.

"Now, I'd love to dish out those little 'omelets-to-be' you guys are supposed to study, but before we even start the preliminary work I'm required by law to show you this video." She stretched her arm out, pointing at Ari. "If you have any questions, you can just ask my main lady, Ariana Ross. She is like, the best!"

As Melody lowered the projector screen in the front of the room, Ari received a few snickers of 'Dork' and 'Teacher's pet.' She groaned and began to massage her temple.

_Why me…?_

"Alright, here we go!" said Melody.

Color began to show on the screen, and a deep, informative voice read the words, "Eggs: The Miracle of Birth."

Ari's head hit the desk.

…

_Attack and Ability Studies_

Marco slung his backpack around the back of his chair and relaxed into his seat. Harvey took the seat next to him, and the best friends bumped knuckles.

The bell ending the last class had only rung mere minutes ago, and so students were still filing in through the door. Since it was the first day and not everyone was too familiar with their schedules, the time in between bells was extended a bit, and teachers presented late students with a slight degree of lenience.

Tony Miller stood in front of the door, double checking both the number next to it and the number next to this period on his own schedule. All but confirmed that he was in the right place, Tony entered.

His icy blue eyes scanned the room for people he knew, or was at the least bit comfortable being around. No Will, Mako, or Rainbow. That knocked off at least the top three. Veronica was probably high up there as well, due to the kindness and sincerity she showed to underclassmen.

Though a part of Tony's slight nervousness could be attested to the fact that Lucky was not currently with him, but tucked inside her Pokèball. Since Pokémon were not allowed to walk freely unless allowed or required in a class, Tony would have to wait for such an opportunity to present itself until he could see his friend again.

When a taller girl shoved Tony out of the way, he realized that he was standing right in front of the door and would have to just make up his mind where to sit quickly.

He first looked towards the back of the room. Sitting towards the back of the room with their trademarked sour pusses were Soren and Emil. That was a definite "no."

In the front sat Rosalie, happily chatting with a few other girls. While Rosalie had been very sweet and kind in their meeting, Tony would've sat with her if not for the other unfamiliar girls.

And then he noticed the desks towards the middle, where sat Marco, Harvey, Dante, and Nathan. The former two were friendly, though Tony had to admit a little too outspoken and facetious for his liking, but the others were right around his level of caution.

And for better or for worse, they were his friends.

The blonde sat in the empty desk next to Dante and behind Harvey. Dante offered a slight wave and a smile to Tony, and then returned to the novel he was reading.

"Whatcha reading?" asked Tony.

"An old novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald," explained Dante, flipping the book over to reveal the cover, which showcased a pair of sinister eyes above a carnival in a violet sky, "It's called _The Great Ghastly_. I got bored in Study Hall and Liara recommended it for me. See, it's about this eccentric millionaire who-"

"Good morning, class!" chirped the professor, a short woman with curly blonde hair the fell down to her shoulder blades. "How's the first day been treating you?"

"It's nice to be back, J-Dubs!" shouted one of her older students in the back of the room.

Jessica Willow was a very fun teacher by many student's standards. Even the most timid of her customers would eventually soften and become more comfortable in class.

Though some became a bit _too _comfortable. And although it didn't bother her too much when a student would address her by first name, it irked her somewhat when her childhood nickname was brought into play.

"Nice to see you too, Jason," said Jessica sarcastically. "Now, before we get started, how's about some attendance. Charmander, could you get my attendance folder? It's the tan one."

Up onto the front desk hopped a small orange and yellow lizard. The bipedal shuffled through a few disorderly stacks of papers, making sure that the flame on its tail stayed far away from anything flammable.

"Charmander, char!" he exclaimed, holding up the folder marked _Attendance_, and then handing it to Jessica.

"Thanks, pal. Okay, let's start things off…and please feel free to yell at me if I get your name wrong. Morgan Ackerman?"

"Here."

"Beth Alpine?"

"Here."

Jessica continued to shuffle down the list without any real errors until she reached the middle of the alphabet.

"Antonio Maruko?"

Tony flinched as if he had been punched in the back, his skin turning whiter than a ghost.

"Uh…m-ma'am? My name is actually Tony M-Miller…not the other one…"

Jessica tapped her cheek with a pin, thinking. "Oh, must be a typo. I'll fix that in the attendance sheets."

Marco and Harvey both noticed the paling of Tony's face, and how it seemed there was some sort of mental thunderstorm brewing after what Professor Willow had said.

In the back of the room, Emil was a bit intrigued as well. But in a different way. He looked over his shoulder to the backpack he had slung over his chair. Poking out of the partially unzipped top were the dossiers.

After class he'd have himself a better look at one of them.

…

"Whoa!" Will stopped just as he entered the Strategy and Application classroom, astounded by what he saw. All of his classrooms so far had just been normal, boring learning spaces. But this…

At the farthest right corner of the room was the professor's desk. There were no knickknacks or personal effects decorating the surface. Just a computer and a few neat stacks of paper.

Occupying about thirty percent of the room on the right side were of course desks, arranged in tiered rows.

And then there was the best part: the battlefield.

Stretched across most of the classroom's interior was a state of the art regulation Pokémon League battlefield. Ten meters across and made of smooth brown clay, it was truly a sight to behold.

Grace stopped next to him and admired it as well, letting out an impressed whistle. "That portion in the center: think that's what we think it is?"

Will nodded. "That portion in the center" referred to the black indent that one could see if looking close enough to the Pokèball shape in the center of the field. "What we think it is" was a clear consensus among the two Trainers: a holocube.

Holocubes were cutting edge machinery that could simulate any type of environment for special battles. Since their invention by RaddTech four years ago, the Pokémon League had retrofitted every single battlefield they had to take advantage of the machinery.

Will decided to admire the advanced classroom from his seat, and took one right in the front row on the bottom tear. As he got settled, he noticed a lot of familiar faces walking in the door: Rosalie, Nathan, Gabby, Harvey, Tony, Liara, Dante, and they just kept coming.

_This is gonna be a fun class_, he thought contently. Ever since signing up he had known learning how to be a better Trainer on the battlefield would be both fun and entertaining. Now he had plenty of friends to do it with him.

"Hey, hey," said Mako, taking the seat next to him. Will smiled at first, but then noticed his palms immediately began to glisten with sweat.

_Why is this happening!? _Ever since last night at the dance, he had just been…smitten every time…every time he noticed the way her black braid cascaded down her neck…that rosy and sweet aroma that emanated from her like some sort of ethereal garden…

"So…erm…how was your day so far?' he stammered, trying to make conversation. Darn it! Why was it becoming so hard to do just that!?

Mako shrugged. "Pretty good." She then giggled, recalling something that had occurred earlier. "Oh yeah: Faye tripped on her shoelaces in Coordinating and bashed her nose on the desk. It was hilarious!"

She began laughing, and Will put in a weak attempt to follow her in such. Behind them, Faye crossed her arms and grunted.

"Wasn't that funny to me…" she honked, tissues still wadded up in her nose.

"Faye, it doesn't matter how many times you say that you aren't: you're accident prone," said Grace. The dark skinned girl was toying around with a rubber band that she had found on the floor, stretching it in between her fingers.

"Ugh, am not!" protested Faye, "Everything that's happened so far has just been an isolated set of-"

The rubber band slipped from Grace's fingers. The elastic motion sent it snapping right into Faye's eye. Faye yelped in pain and fell to the ground, clutching her eye.

Grace shrugged. "Well, that was an accident. And you were pretty prone." Smugly, she reclined back in her seat. "I rest my case."

"Gosh, Grace," said Volan, "You sure you want to be Champion? I think you'd be a better lawyer, in my opinion."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to flick elastic bands at the eyes of defendants in court, Volan," Liara hummed, smiling satirically. And if _that _wasn't enough to set off alarm bells in Will's head for something to be very, very wrong with Liara, her reaching over to squeeze Volan's hand certainly did.

Thinking hard for a moment, using the two of them as an example, Will suddenly understood something more about love.

Using that very same example, as well as the way Will had been acting as of late…so did Mako.

Her eyes immediately centered straight, the way her head was facing, in an attempt not to look at anyone. Her heart fluttered, and Mako was unsure whether excitement or nervousness was predominant.

_Will likes me…_

The realization hit her like a truck. And if you had been in her situation for the amount of years she had been, you'd be equally in shock. Will had been her friend for years. The two had bonded as acquaintances using their lack of a father figure as the first real icebreaker, connecting them.

After that they had become the best of friends. They liked the same things. They hung out with the same people. For the longest time (heck, up until now) Mako had assumed that they were just doing what best friends did.

She thought Will saw it the same way, too.

As she matured, Mako began to wonder more and more when Will would become dissatisfied with his position as Mako's friend, whether emotionally or hormonally, and vie to leave the "Friendzone."

From the looks of it, it was hormonally. Which meant if Liara, who was known for being as boring (and sometimes as cold) as stone could be the first to fall victim to Cupid's arrows…things were about to get a lot more awkward.

"Good afternoon, class." The sharp, authoritative voice brought Mako back to reality. Where her best friend was waging a war against sinister teenage hormones.

And from the redness of his cheeks, quite clearly losing.

Making her way to the center of the battlefield was a woman Mako interpreted as being a horrible fit for a _classroom_, let alone a class, of this size. Compared to the size of the academy and its current staffing and student population, Agatha Hickory was a drop of water in an empy basin.

And yet unknown to most present, her intellect would prove to be a great lake.

"Welcome to Strategy and Application," she welcomed the students quite unwelcomingly. Hickory's face betrayed not one iota of emotion, and if she put stock or faith in any sort of silly games or merriment, Mako assumed she'd be great at cards.

"I am Professor Hickory. You may and will address me as such." She gestured to the back of the room, where on the whiteboard wall lie written an entire notebook's worth of complex notes. Just looking at them made Mako's head spin faster than a Hitmontop. "In this course, you will be instructed on just how to maximize both the strength of your Pokémon and yourself in combat, as well as in any other situation life can throw at you."

Her green eyes gleamed like brilliant, tempered steel. Hands clasped behind her back, she began to pace back and forth. The tiny minds of these…children would be unrefined and unpredictable, so Agatha assumed. That would be a hindrance to the class and its progress.

Therefore, establishing expectations now would be only logical to Agatha. So that if any deviations from her expectations would be to occur later on, retribution would be justified and humiliation would be more effective.

"Which brings me to one point I wish to make clear before we carry on to any other topic. I expect the maximum every student has to offer. Anything less simply is not enough. I do not _appreciate _maximum results, I expect them."

_Great, _thought Marco, leaning up against his elbow, _Now we have to deal with Min-Harkin. Joy. _For such a small woman, Hickory seemed to carry herself at a height of superiority so tall, Rayquaza would find itself shrouded in her shadow.

"Now that we've established that, you may retrieve the workbooks underneath your desks and turn to page three," said Agatha, turning briskly and returning to her desk. "Once there-"

"Uuuuuuugh!" screeched Gabby, flopping down onto her desk, "We have to do _work _on the first day!? Isn't the first day, like, just getting course organizers and listening to the teachers blab?"

Still facing the other side of the room, Hickory's nostrils flared. Insolence and cynicism were not tolerated in this classroom, especially not directed at a superior. Hickory's pride was a difficult obstacle to circumnavigate, but once she got around it and let go of her anger, she proceeded to once again face the class.

"Did I not just finish my point?" inquired Hickory, advancing slowly on the students, "About potential. And how you can so easily waste it?"

"Y-you didn't mention anything about wasting it," said Gabby, faltering over her words. She was beginning to feel slightly like a mistake had been made…

Hickory nodded. "Quite. Thank you so kindly for providing us with an example."

A few anonymous giggles around the room. Hickory paused for a moment to wait for them to subside as she watched Gabby slowly lower her face to her desk. Then she finished the class' first lesson.

"That was my first point. Second is that _I _do not _blab_. Every sentence that leaves my mouth on this subject is twice as valuable than an entire chapter of your textbooks," she said, her words plain and colorless, but at the same time not. Condescension had that effect. "The unfortunate truth about the fact is-"

_DIII-DONG!_

Agatha did not understand the synthetic buzz that echoed from the ceiling, cutting her off from her dressing down for a moment. Class had only just started. Almost a full hour remained. So it wasn't the bell signaling the end of a period.

And she had been present during the test of the fire alarm performed before classes had begun a few days prior. It was not this. So, logically, it had to be the announcement bell.

_"Good afternoon, students and faculty," _came the voice of the overlord herself, Headmistress Harkin. Gabby sighed and thanked her lucky stars: the way Hickory had been staring deep into the personal shame she wasn't even sure that she had and giving her a thorough tongue lashing at the same time, Gabby had almost felt on the verge of tears.

_"I sincerely hope this year's first official day of classes has gone smoothly thus far. Though before we can continue, I have a few announcements to make…"_

* * *

**Next time...the greatest twist this story has ever known...MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS!**

**Nah, but seriously, we'll be finding out some important stuff next time, including the answers I've promised would happen in this chapter (sowy!)**

**So, I'm not gonna make the recap too long, so here's the short version *takes deep breath*: Hunter Skadge found a thing, Quell is happy about it, Gabby slept well, Rosalee's mad and her toes hurt, Veronica has a plan, ~Ari and Leo, sittin in a tree (K-I-S-S-I-N-G)~, J-Dubs read Tony's real last name and it made him upset for some reason, Emil is still a jerk, Will likes Mako and it's kinda weird now, LiaraxVolan (but I'm not gonna sing the song again) Agatha's a smart lady and she wants everyone to know it...and that about sums it up. *takes breath***

**Two things before I go: First, if you like stories like this, why not check out Pokekid543's ****_Summer Wars_****. Follow the adventures of our fair academy's own Grace Grant, and maybe send in an OC (to my knowledge, Trainers are still being accepted but more Councilors are needed). Will might even show up every once in a while there, too! So go check it out!**

**And second: I know I usually ask Reader Questions exclusively in ****_The Adventure of Will_****, but I've got a mini-one here: Who are your current pairings? I'm just kinda curious to know what you guys interpret relationships between the students as now. Who knows? Your opinions might actually influence what actually happens. I don't have pairings all set-in-stone yet.**

**So, answer after you review, and I'll seeya around! **


	12. Chapter 12: Dark Tides

**Last time on Eterna Academy:**

**The first day of school started up, with our students experiencing a slight bit of normality in their school lives (for a change). Halfway through the day, however, Headmistress Harkin came over the loudspeaker with an important announcement.**

**What will occur within her office?**

**Find out now!**

* * *

"First, in regards to the incident last night at our school sponsored social event."

To put it bluntly, Diana Harkin was not a very happy camper at the moment. Everything she had worked for half a century was now at stake, and all due to factors out beyond her control.

And if there was one thing Harkin hated above anything, _anything_…it was not being in control.

Harkin didn't need to use of Hickory's miracle machine to tell her that the truth would be illogical. If parents found out that the school could not defend against murderous robots, or yet, was being attacked by murderous robots, they would surely recall their children home. Not to mention the academy would most likely be shut down, of course.

Exactly one hundred and twelve, approximately a third of Eterna Academy's student population, had attempted to contact home and recount the horrible tale. Phone lines had been…mysteriously knocked out, so cellular and video phone contact was not possible. However, text messages and emails were not.

Harkin had intercepted each and every one, and the now under control Genesect had appropriated "responses" from mommy and daddy to each and every student who had sent word out. So far as Harkin knew, no one outside the academy knew.

But she couldn't be too careful. And so, she would have to dispel any and all dissent before everything fell to shambles.

Above all else, Harkin prided herself in being a good liar.

"I am sure you have all been in touch with local news, especially in regards to the splinter group known as Fulcrum…"

"Fulcrum" was not a fictional creation. They were real. And they were a threat.

Though the students did not know to whom.

And paraphrasing the words of a great literary mind, a true victory is not simply dealing with a current threat. Remove the next generation, and your victory will be absolute.

For how do you kill a meddlesome weed? Tear it up by the roots so that it can no longer pluck sustenance from the soil. _Then _you can burn it.

Harkin paused for a moment, deciding how to appropriate her her next sentence. Index and middle finger still on the key button of her intercom, she spoke again.

"For those of you who _are_ aware of Fulcrum, or perhaps not, you may recognize the name form just recently. Two weeks ago, Senator Mikael Markovich of Hearthome City was kidnapped by the same group; plucked from his private study in his sleep. The Senator was returned the next night, right where he had been sitting. He is currently going through hypno-therapy, as nothing was physically wrong with him upon being returned.

"Even more recently, as I have just found out, a cell of Fulcrum agents compromised a secret facility on Mossdeep Island in Hoenn, stealing a top-secret deep space mining drone developed by the Hoennese government. Authorities suspect that Fulcrum intended to use said droid to instill as much fear in the local population of Sinnoh as possible…by attacking you, here."

Harkin could almost image a collective gasp rising from each individual classroom across the entire academy. Whispers of discontent. Rampant theorizes spreading like wildfire. The weaker students would first realize the threat posed to their livelihood, and once enough of them resigned to fear, the strong would begin to topple.

Were they safe? Why was Fulcrum targeting them? Who _was _Fulcrum? Even within the walls of a place where, just days ago they felt safe, the students and teachers of Eterna Academy felt something that Harkin interpreted as the greatest threat mankind has ever known: not knowing.

Of course, there were levels to this phenomenon. Knowledge, at the top, brought clarity. Triumph. If you _know _the answer on a test, you get it right and you feel good about getting it right. No worries.

Proposed knowledge leads to comfort. When racking your brain for an answer, you're willing to bargain with any notion that it may in fact be correct, and try to convince yourself to replace missing knowledge. Or, upon seeing someone else appropriated an answer, their own knowledge might help to comfort your lack thereof.

And then there is not knowing. The brain is desperate, _hungry _for answers. At least in the second stage there was slight reasoning involved before grim and often reluctant acceptance.

Right about now, the students and faculty of Eterna Academy needed something to hang onto to keep them from descending into fear. Harkin's false promises would provide such an anchor to sanity. False it may be, but the human mind was truly a foolish instrument. They were desperate.

"All efforts have been set into motion to capture these criminals," continued Harkin, "But more importantly, to secure our own school grounds. Starting effective immediately, dorm curfew shall be restricted from ten at night to nine, for the time being. Breach of this rule will result in severe punishment, as well as an extended detail for leaving school grounds, which is a rule already included in the student handbook, page thirteen, paragraph one."

Harkin leaned back and allowed herself a thin lipped smile. Time to add the piece de resistance. "We administrators here at Eterna Academy employ the best, and only the best _for _the best. Our greatest efforts will be put forth to protect you, the students, and the future of our world. That is all. Harkin out."

Lifting her finger from the button, Harkin allowed herself a brief moment to reflect on all the good she had just done. The weak would be kept in contempt, having accepted what she said just due to the fact that it offered an out from panic. And the strong, those who resisted her…would be singled out.

"Madam?" Alan poked his scrawny head inside Harkin's office. "I, erm, have a few updates for you."

"Proceed," said Harkin, partially ignoring her and opening a small drawer.

"Well, first off, Professor Grey and Professor Arcturus have arrived. I have filed their excuses for being late for study at your discretion. Also, there is a waiting call from the board, and-"

The door slammed shut. "What!?" hissed Harkin, eyes blazing. She stood abruptly from her chair, sending it careening back. "Why did you not tell me, you wretched fool!"

The unconfrontational Alan gulped and straightened his glasses. "B-because, madam, y-you were in the middle of an important announcement-"

"Shut up! Shut up and get out!" Harkin sighed and did her best to hide any signs of anger and fatigue as she sat back down, straightening her hair. "I mustn't keep them waiting any longer. Patch them through."

Alan nodded hastily, and vanished back through the door. There were times when Harkin simply could not stand that sad sack of human organs. If she didn't want her carpet to have to be dry cleaned again-

Harkin banished the thought as several clicking sounds erupted from the ceiling, followed by about fifteen simultaneous hums. Every portrait ringing the wall above the door began to vanish back into the building, each revealing a screen. Each screen moved forward to take the portrait's place.

The screens flicked on. On each one was a logo: a black sword pointed downwards atop a shield. Red wings hemmed the hilt, and ivy crept up the blade. On the bottom of the rotating logo lie emblazoned the words _Immortalem et aeternam_.

One by one, each screen lightened from black to and inky grey, revealing a human silhouette. Harkin folded her hands and relaxed back in her chair.

Her conference call was about to begin.

"Harkin…" hissed the centermost screen, whose occupant possessed a more slender frame. "Please do tell our fellow alumni why we have taken time out of our busy schedule to make this call?"

"Do not chastise me in my own office," cautioned Harkin. Standing her ground was imperative. No respect would be earned by being carried. In this dangerous game, it was gained through shoving someone down and picking them back up just to show you can.

Sometimes, the second part wasn't even necessary.

Although Harkin technically had to refer to the mysterious body as her allies, there was no doubt in her mind that each and every one of them would stab her in the back the second they got the chance.

In part, that is why this call was happening in the first place.

Harkin took the liberty of continuing. "Sekna, it was _your _machine that malfunctioned in the first place, placing my students, and more importantly, my position in jeopardy." Harkin ran her fingers over a keyboard, transmitting technical specs and data to this "Sekna" person. "If your attempts at sabotage weren't so pathetic, I might actually have been offended."

Sekna snorted. "Don't toot your own horn, Harkin. And don't patronize me, either. Although the seat on the Silencium sits open, it could easily pass to another vying occupant. You have produced no results since my fellows and I painstakingly installed you as Headmistress. Your convictions have given us nothing."

"And let me remind you," came another voice, this one female, "That the Consortium shares a common goal. We would not be so selfish, or so foolish as to sabotage its efforts."

Another silhouette chuckled. "Don't make me laugh, Hadras."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're just trying to buy favor with all of the potential candidates. What, is Dantius receiving gift baskets from you as well?"

"Of all the close minded things to leave your mouth, Grant. I feel that I needn't even explain myself."

Harkin shared a private smile. The current members of the Silencium, the Consortium's inner circle were already at each other's throats. How simple it would be for her to assume control.

The Consortium stood as a worldwide alliance of the most powerful and influential men and women on the planet. The information they possessed could topple governments. Their creations and innovations have pushed mankind for centuries. On some occasions, they even sold secrets to the highest bidders, becoming somewhat of an information broker.

Though at the end of the day, no one seemed to benefit from this auctioned knowledge. No one but the Consortium.

"Is that complacency I smell, Grant?" asked Harkin, tapping her fingertips together. "Any extra amounts of that should go in the waste bin, if you ask me. I'll have you know that Elizabeth Kard is currently sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, under the guise of liaison work for the International Police."

"Ah, the infamous Huntress," sighed Grant, "Yes, Agent Winter and I have had our…discrepancies over the years. Her memory and intellect are almost a match for my own." He chuckled. "Almost. She has been a particular thorn in my side for many years."

_Yes_, Harkin thought wolfishly, almost licking her lips, _A particular thorn you can be sure that I will make no mistake in twisting viciously._

"I grow weary of your bickering," hissed Sekna, "And of _you _stalling, Harkin. When will we have results?"

"In the very new future, I plan on giving our friend the Professor a visit. That will take care of that missing link. Until then, I have contracted a private group of Pokémon hunters for my other purposes." Harkin raised her head. "I have full confidence that this ordeal shall be over in nary a month…"

Harkin smiled and opened her palms. "And then, my friends, immortality will be ours."

* * *

**Dun...dun...duuuuuuuuuun!**

**So that, my dear readers, is the shadow of Harkin's plan. What are her true intentions? And who are the mysterious members of the Consortium? What do they plan to do with immortality? And how will the achieve it? Stick around to find out!**

**So there you have it: why I was asking for evil tycoons. Submissions are still open, so get em in so that they may clash with our students! Though I should mention they don't all have to be bad to the bone. Some could be evil, yes. Or some in it for the money. Or end up having their heart in the right place after all. It's up to you! See Chapter 7. **

**In other news, I worked to release this chapter a bit early because...today is the first year anniversary of me joining the site! Yay! It's been really fun writing fanfictions, and I think I've improved a lot as a writer since then. Plus, your reviews have made me so happy over the past year, what with people actually enjoying my own creations! With a year under my belt and X and Y only a week away (coincidence?) I say thank you, readers!**

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review!**


	13. Chapter 13: The Grump and the Gardener

**What you missed last class (As narrated by our characters):**

**Rosalie: Gabby was being a big sleepy-head!**

**Gabby: Was not!**

**Veronica: Hey, Volan, c'mere. I gotta ask you somethin'...**

**Rosalee: Freaking Gabby...you're lucky our dialogue is separated by Veronica's! **

**Ari: When will Leo notice me...?**

**Leo: Huh?**

**Ari: I said, uh...Mississippi! Yeah, Mississippi...I gotta stop making up words, right?**

**Mako: I wish he'd just relax...**

**Emil: There's something about that Bug-Catcher that rings a bell...**

**Will: Ughn...why does being a hormonal teenage boy have to be so awkward!?**

**Marco: I totally ship it...**

**Liara: I believe I detected ****_several _****tautologies in that sentence...**

**Professor Hickory: NO TALKING IN CLASS!**

**All: Yes ma'am!**

**Disclaimer: The only OCs listed above that were created by TrainerNaps are Will, Mako, and Liara. Credit goes to the respective owners. TrainerNaps also does no own Pokemon, or any other thing I may or may not have referenced in writing this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

And so, for our students and teachers, their first hard day at work came to a close. As they did, each dispersed, off to pursue their own interests for the rest of the day and the duration of the night (as long as they were back for nine).

Will and Nathan were on their way back from a brief excursion to the library and heading back to the dorms. Once there, Will had to grab his flute and head back out to band tryouts, and Nathan simply wanted to do some studying.

"No, no, it goes molecules, _then _organelles," explained Will. The two were having a conversation about the basic composition of life.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, I always forget organelles, because organs come farther down the chain, right?"

"Yeah, I get where you're coming from, but-" Will stopped dead. Nathan halted too once he noticed this, wondering what the holdup was.

Squinting, Will peered down the hallway. Nathan looked in the same direction in an attempt to discern what was the matter.

Standing at the end of the hallway was Winter, whom Nathan remembered was Will's cousin. But he didn't quite understand what was the cause for a complete stop…until, that is, he saw the other person.

This person too had white hair, but for more obvious reasons. He was an older fellow, though very healthy at that. He was taller than both Will and Winter, with a well-built body and a strong jaw. His wispy white hair was tied in a small ponytail behind his head.

The old man dressed in a somewhat older style, with brown slacks, loafers, and red suspenders over his white dress shirt.

Winter stopped mid conversation and jerked her head towards Will. The man stopped as well, and a great smile spread onto his face.

"William!" he exclaimed, taking off at a speed Nathan would've thought unhealthy for a man his age.

"Grumpa!" greeted Will, who had no time to react when the man barreled into him and wrapped him in a bone crushing Ursaring hug.

"Will, my boy, how's school been treating you?" asked the man. He dropped Will to allow the skinny boy to breath.

"It's pretty good!" Will's eyes popped as he realized that Nathan probably had no idea what was going down. "Oh, Nathan, I'd like you to meet my grandfather. Though over the years, we kids kinda started calling him Grumpa."

Grumpa scratched his head. "If I'm correct, I believe that Lizzie started that nickname, didn't you?"

"I highly doubt that…" Winter sighed, irritated.

"Aw, c'mon, cheer up!" Grumpa wrapped a muscled arm around her neck, pulling her closer. By the look on Winter's face, Nathan could tell there were a million places she'd rather be. Perhaps even more if someone saw her. "By the way, you can just call me Grump. It seems easier that way."

"Right…" said Nathan, looking at his feet.

"So, anyway, what are you doing here?" inquired Will.

Grump released Winter, who fell to her knees, gasping for breath. "I'm glad you asked! I'm a teacher here!"

"No way!" Will and Winter said at the same time, Will excitedly and Winter quietly (and a bit in disbelief). "What are you teaching."

"Why, Politics, of course!"

…

Tony rubbed his arm nervously, eyes swiveling from left to right as he searched the school grounds. It was currently densely occupied, albeit the pockets of students being far apart in the great green expanses. Still, people already thought he was a little weird. They didn't need to see him wandering around aimlessly.

"See her anywhere, Lucky?" asked Tony to his Butterfree, who hovered over his shoulder.

"Freeeh…" whinnied the insect, shaking her head.

After school, on his way back to the dorms, he had found Rainbow passing out fliers for the Gardening Club, which she had founded. Tony stopped to observe for a moment, and found that if not doing the noble thing and just continuing to walk, people would grab a flyer just to throw it out immediately after.

It didn't seem to bother Rainbow. As he had established thus far, for the record, nothing did. But Tony knew that no matter how naïve or upbeat or strong in masking it you, are it always hurts deep down.

Tony Miller was an expert on hurting deep down.

Anyway, he had promised Rainbow he'd show up, though at first he felt kinda awkward knowing he'd be the only other person there. Rainbow must've noticed this, and insisted that there were other members that would appear.

This in mind, Tony decided to join the Gardening Club. For Rainbow.

That is, so her feelings wouldn't get hurt! Not, like, the other thing! Really! Seriously!

"Hey, Tony! Over here!"

The blonde whirled around to where he was facing the academy. There in the corner, between two large bushes was apparently the Gardening Club's chief headquarters: a fifteen foot long patch of soil hugging the building.

Even in her pants soiled with, well, soil, and her filthy gardening T-Shirt, Rainbow still appeared radiant. On her head she wore a striped bandana, keeping her hair neat while she gardened.

Tony smiled and made his way over. Lucky noticed the look in his eyes and groaned.

"Freeh…" _Here we go…_

"Make yourself confortable," invited Rainbow, motioning to the ground. "Oh, how silly of me! Let me introduce our other members!"

Tony looked to the left. No one. To the right. Nope. He and Rainbow were the only homosapiens present at that location.

Rainbow continued, heedless of his confusion. "Allow me to introduce our other members: Rose, Cher, and Ralty!"

The three Pokémon, a Roselia, a Cherubi, and a Ralts (respectively) all gave their greeting. Tony waved sheepishly and smiled.

"H-hey…"

Rainbow looked around, like expecting someone. "She should be here…"

"We have another member?" inquired Tony.

"Yup. She's kinda shy, so she might not come…" Rainbow shrugged. "Anyway, until she gets here, I was planting these lilies next to these roses. I think they'd look lovely in that order! Wanna help?"

"Sure," agreed Tony, kneeling down next to her. Rainbow reached into her bag and pulled out a filthy pair of gardening gloves.

"You should put these on," she suggested, "Some of these flowers can prick your finger."

Tony heeded her advice and put the gloves on. He then proceeded to aid her in planting flowers. And for a while, that's all they did. Occasionally, Rainbow would inform him of how a flower could be better placed to attract even attention from pollinating insects (to which Tony was ecstatic to hear about) and to receive better sunlight.

But they were all gentle instructions, and suggestions at that. Tony didn't feel like he was being judged or pressured. Nothing was expected from him. Being with Rainbow made him feel..at home.

After placing a small tulip plant, Tony sighed satisfactorily and brushed his dirty gloves together. "That should about do it. How does that look?"

"Great! I think the azaleas will look just lovely when they come in!" suggested Rainbow, admiring the job that Tony did.

Nodding, Tony reached back to grab the pot containing said flowers. He had just been looking at them moments ago and had a good idea on their position. His hand wrapped around a pot, which he pulled onto his lap.

"Huh?" Tony examined the flowers. Or, lack thereof. There were just stems. The petals were all gone!

"What's up?" wondered Rainbow, leaning over to check out the pot. Upon seeing the ruined flowers, she perked up. "Oh! That must be Honeysuckle!"

Tony put the pot down. "Honeysuckle?"

"Honey, you there?" Rainbow called, turning around on her knees. "It's okay, you can come out! Tony is a friend!"

With the manner in which she called, Tony assumed that "Honeysuckle" was another Pokémon. Perhaps a Grass-Type, attracted to Rainbow by their mutual love for flowers.

He did not, however, expect a Legendary Pokémon to poke its little nose out of the grass.

Slowly and timidly, out came a white hedgehog Pokémon with grass-like fur and a red flower atop its head. She almost seemed to be shaking, taking in every surrounding detail as if a predator were to leap out of even the smallest planted bush.

Rainbow smiled and picked up the creature, cuddling with it in her arms. "Tony, this is Honeysuckle. Honeysuckle, this it Tony."

Tony gulped and pointed at the Pokémon. "Rainbow…you do realize that's a Shaymin, right? As in, Shaymin, one of the rarest Pokémon on Earth!?"

"Of course I know! I was raised in Floroma Town." Rainbow looked down at Honeysuckle with affection. "I never actually saw one, but plenty of people came to town looking for them. Some were collectors who just wanted to see it. Others…others were bad people. That's all I'll say."

"Well…at least Honeysuckle found someone nice," complimented Tony.

"Oh, thank you!" Rainbow giggled and tickled Honeysuckle's exposed belly. The Shaymin began to giggled along with her. "See that, Honey? Even Tony says you'll be safe. Everything is going to be-"

Suddenly, out from the grass shot a great mass of purple steel and bad attitude. Genesect had returned. How such a bulky machine attained such a level of stealth, Tony knew not. But he knew one thing for sure.

He had to protect Rainbow and Honeysuckle at all costs.

Suddenly angered, Tony shot to his feet. He had been helpless at the dance. He had sat and watched as Ms. Morris and Mr. Williams and everyone else had put their lives on the line while he hid like a coward. But no longer.

Standing in front of Rainbow like a human shield, Lucky at his side, Tony reached for a Pokèball. "Lancelot, let's-"

Genesect began to glow in a swirl of purple. Tony bit his lip. _Great! Another new trick…_

The sparkling swirl shrunk, and the air once occupied by a lavender death machine was now empty.

In the midst of his shock, Tony felt four small paws and a light body land on his head, and then leap off. Falling on his feet amidst the flower bed was a Zorua. He snickered and dashed off into the grass.

Tony and Lucky scowled at the confounded prankster as he dashed away. Rainbow, on the other hand, laughed.

"You really got us!" admitted Rainbow, covering her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Yeah. We were pretty close to getting you…" growled Tony.

"Mercury, didn't I just tell you not to run away like that?" Tony and Rainbow turned around. Having mixed difficulties in navigating her wheelchair through the tall grass was Hunter, looking slightly miffed.

Being the gentleman, Tony rushed out to help her, seizing the handles at the back and pushing. Sighing, Hunter relaxed her hands onto her lap just as Mercury leapt up onto it.

Tony set the wheelchair into stationary once they were closer to Rainbow's little garden. "I see you got your cast removed," he observed.

Hunter nodded somberly. "Yeah, but I still won't be able to walk for a while…" Hunter's condition made her bones very and fragile and brittle. Her legs literally could not support her slight weight.

Most people assumed her greatest regret was being unable to walk. And while that was indeed far up on the list, there was one more pressing issue to her. Self-sufficiency: Hunter pretty much couldn't do anything without the help of another. And it really stank.

"That's okay!" chirped Rainbow. She reached down and offer up a small flower pot. "Would you like to help us garden?"

Hunter hesitated for a moment, and then accepted the flower. There were a great many things that she could not do, but still longed for. Soccer was one of them; in fact, she had come this way to try and avoid the sight and sounds of tryouts. But still, Hunter longed for something she could enjoy with others. And she assumed that this was it.

She nodded. "Yes. I'd like that very, very much."

Happily, the three continued their task of beautifying the academy, exchanging friendly banter all the while. Though quickly it became girl talk between RJ and Hunter, and Tony was left briefly to his own devices.

Which is when a frightful thought donned on him. Face turning ghostly pale, his shivering hand dropped the tool he was holding.

"Is everything okay?" Rainbow inquired.

Tony nodded shakily, and returned to work. But everything was _not _okay. He didn't share because he didn't want to scare the girls.

His thoughts? Briefly, his mind had skimmed subconsciously over Zorua and his prank. And when it went over the fact that it had disguised itself as Genesect, a frightful theory came to mind.

To his knowledge, a Zorua's powers of illusion were not as refined as its evolved form. Zorua required a visual of what it was going to become, and in recentcy of its illusion.

Zorua had never before seen Genesect.

* * *

**Mysterious cliffhanger of mystery...**

**And it looks like Will and Winter's grandfather is now a teacher at the academy...did someone say embarrassing family moments? Seriously though, Grump is one of my favorite new characters XD**

**So how about that intro, huh? I know I do an intro-type deal for most of my other stories, where it's like a recap, but that doesn't exactly work for me here. So, I tried this. Whaddya think?**

**Also, an itty-bitty spot of news, nothing major, just thought I'd let you know...X AND Y RELEASED YESTERDAY WORLDWIDE. Unless you got yours early...lucky...Great game, loving it so far! Though, compared to games like Black and White or their sequels, it really feels like it was written for younger players. **

**After such a profoundly written script in the Gen 5 games, it left me wanting a little more. That's really my only beef with the games. Though the small amount of new Pokemon kinda grinds my gears, I can move past it considering all of the old favorites returning, plus the jam-packed new features. Plus, they gave me a Squirtle after just, like, a few hours in, so all is forgiven :) They're really the first games of their kind for Pokemon, so they deserve a little slack for their shortcomings.**

**I only just got the third badge, so...ehehe...I'm kinda taking it slow to experience everything I can. I know for a fact that a lot of people are ahead of me (some even beat it) but that's alright. I'll be done soon enough. Anyway, I strongly recommend X and Y!**

**Now, for those of you wondering if I'm going to squeeze Gen 6 in: I will. Before, I said "No Gen 6 until the release" and I meant it. You'll see some of the newer concepts, that I can promise!**

**So, a few more shorter chapters like this for schooling, then it's off to the first field trip! Oh, and the awesome Halloween special I have planned XD. **

**Review for more epicness (the more reviews I get, the faster I'll be motivated to go with updates) and stay tuned!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Cold Boot

**What you missed last class(as narrated by our characters):**

**Will: Grumpa? You teach here?**

**Grump: Yup! And I'm here to stay! Isn't that right, Lizzie?**

**Winter: Oh, joy...**

**Rainbow: I'm so glad so many people are joining the Gardening Club! Two is my brand new record!**

**Hunter: Sorry about Mercury...he kinda gets lonely sometimes...**

**Tony: Is anyone else nervous about Hunter's Zorua turning into a crazy psycho-murderer robot...? No, just me?**

_**Disclaimer: NO OCs listed above, with the exception of Winter, Will, Grump, and Hunter, belong to TrainerNaps, and instead their respective owners (credit given in order of appearance). TrainerNaps also does not own Pokemon. Be pretty sweet if he did, though...**_

* * *

"Dude, check this out! I think I finally got it!"

Elatedly, Marco juggled the soccer ball in the air, knocking it back and forth between his legs by use of his heels. On this wonderfully chilly autumn afternoon, Harvey had managed to drag his roommate out, after days of careful cajoling, to try out for the Eterna Academy Lucarios: the school's premier soccer team.

Marco had had his initial discrepancies with joining, what with him being from the balmy Hoenn region making him rather susceptible to cold weather. This was a problem, considering the fact that soccer was obviously played during the fall season.

Though Marco's opinion had somewhat been influenced out of apathy; he had heard down the grapevine that the soccer team might be a little strapped for players this year, and the dark haired boy eventually relented to Harvey's coaxing.

Several of the other traditional football diehards had also brought a friend along, Amelia Rose included. Although the experience of getting him down there had been quite akin to leading a Ponyta to water and getting it to drink, the abrasive teen had eventually managed to drag Dante along with her.

Although Dante might argue that he was there against his own will.

The scrawny boy's knees knocked together as he, desperate for warmth, hugged himself while cold breeze nipped at his ears. The secondhand soccer uniform he had been loaned by the school was doing a less than decent job of keeping out the cold.

"C-c-can I g-g-go back ins-s-s-ide now?" he pleased, rubbing his arms.

Amira rolled her eyes. "Stop whining, Dante! It's, like, thirty degrees!"

"E-exactly!"

"Psh, this is bikini weather back where I come from!" Amira exaggerated, flicking Dante on the side of the head. "Heck, if it were ten degrees cooler, people'd still be barbequing on the beach!"

"Is it safe to assume that 'where you're from' is a mental ward?" snickered Faye from Amira's side.

"No," she replied calmly, "But it _is _safe to assume that you'll end up in a _hospital _ward if you don't back off and mind your own business!"

Faye held her palms up in surrender, backing away slowly to avoid bodily harm. Of course, being accident-prone Faye, she tripped on a twig on her way back…typical.

Amira shook her head disdainfully. "Some people, right?"

"Yeah, I know…" Veronica, who happened to be in earshot, grumbled to herself.

Now, it wasn't that Veronica specifically didn't get along with Amira: the two had barely interacted in the week or so that they had been on campus together. So it wouldn't exactly be fair to make judgments about her like that based on such little information.

And she didn't consider the other girl a rival, either. Facing facts, Veronica honestly thought that perhaps it was Amira's skill, which she considered to be on par with her own, that drove her to desire betterment for herself and in the eyes of her peers.

_Let's not get too carried away, _Veronica thought to herself, reflecting on what she had just…well…reflected upon. _How about she's _almost _on my level…_

Suddenly, the sharp chirp of a whistle being blown alerted the young Trainers to their approaching coach. Soccer ball and clipboard tucked under her arm, decked out in her silver and blue coach's uniform (of course, on her head still rested her trademarked aviator goggles) was Ellie Morris.

"Hi, Ms. Morris!" chirped Rosalie, waving.

Ellie scowled, leaving Rosalie a bit confused. Without warning, the bluenette hurled the soccer ball straight at the blonde girl's head for no apparent reason. Rosalie shrieked and ducked just in time, avoiding bodily harm. The ball sailed right over where her head had been and smacked Faye right in the nose, sending her right back down on the ground.

"I'm not your friend on this field!" declared Ellie, "And I'm not your teacher, either! I'm your coach, and my only reason for being here is to whip you maggots into shape! So you'd better afford me the respect I deserve when on _my _field!"

A depreciated little laugh came from behind her. In almost the same garb approaching the field was Avery. "Well then, I guess by that logic we'll have to share!"

"W-what do you mean!?" stammered Ellie, angrily. She wasn't up for Avery's little shenanigans at the moment.

Avery flipped through a few sheets on his clipboard, before exclaiming "Ah!" and turning the board around.

"Straight from the Headmistress' desk," he explained as Ellie examined the document, "Says in the fine print that I, Avery P. Sullivan, receive all rights exclusive to the Head Coach of the Eterna Academy Lucarios!"

Ellie's eye twitched. That was the exact same document _she _had! Of course, it said Eleanor C. Morris instead of his name…

But that changed nothing! Ellie was not in the mood for any of Avery's gags, especially not now. She had been vying for this position for years, and now that Coach Raiko had finally quit to be able to spend more time with his wife, Ellie hadn't wasted a wink in snatching up the job.

The weekly bonus on her paycheck had nothing to do with it. Truth be told, when Ellie was a little girl she had wanted to be a professional soccer player. A torn ligament in her knee dashed all hopes of that, but perhaps remnants of that dream carried her over to this new one now that she was an educator.

Ellie straightened out. "Well…I say we go to the main office right now and get this straightened out…"

"Wait!" Avery stopped Ellie as she began to march back towards the main building. He leaned in closer as to not broadcast to the entirety of the students present. "I know how much this means to you, Ellie, and it kinda means something to me too. I'm not messing around with this, but I think we could work something out as two adults, no? Perhaps we could be co-coaches?"

"I…well, I sup-"

"Whaddya, say, kids?" shouted Avery, breaking away from the intimacy. "How about Ms. Morris and I _both _be coaches?"

"I don't mind," said Veronica, shrugging.

"Eh, why not?" said Amira.

"Sounds like a plan," agreed Harvey.

The students all seemed to be reaching a unanimous agreement. And while that was all well and good, Ellie couldn't help but feel a little sore about what Avery had done. _Always so quick to get the students involved so I can't just say no, aren't you? _She seethed, _You underhanded little…_

Nervously edging her way forward, Rosalie spoke up. "Um…Ms. Morris…Mr. Sullivan? I, er…I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…" She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. While Rosalie was usually upbeat and outgoing, she hated confrontation.

"Huh? What's up?" asked Avery.

"Well…the rules state that there can only be and _has _to be one Head Coach…and, well…those are the rules…" It was well known throughout the school by now that Rosalie was a stickler for the rules. The Student Handbook was almost a holy tome to her.

And she had a point. Shrugging, Avery turned to Ellie. "Well, looks like we've got another dilemma on our hands. What should we do about it?"

Ellie was still feeling a little bittersweet about the whole thing. She huffed. "Well, like I said before, perhaps at the main office…"

"Why not have a battle?" suggested Veronica.

"I don't see why not," said Avery, agreeing. "But it's up to Ms. Morris, of course."

_Again, pitting them against me!_ Ellie gritted her teeth. _If I say "no," then I'm the bad guy! Why not fight your own battles, Avery!_

In Ellie's head, on went a little light bulb. _His own battles…_

There was _no way _that Avery could beat her! Ellie was two times the Trainer he was! In 2005, only her first year as a Trainer, Ellie had placed in the Top Four at the Indigo League, and had won the Hoenn League the year after. It might not even be arrogant to call her Pokémon some of the strongest in the entire academy.

"Fine," said Ellie, feigning reluctance. Time to play some mind games of her own…

Avery clapped his hands together. "Great! How does one-on-one sound? It'll be short, sweet, and to the point."

"Good enough for me," replied Ellie, checking her pockets. All six Pokèballs were present. Though she'd only need one. Perhaps even in a larger battle this fact would hold true…

Avery looked over his shoulder. "Hey Rosalie, wanna ref our battle?" Rosalie, of course, would be the ideal choice for a referee, since none were officially present. She was honest, smart in a pinch, and of course, knew the rules better than anyone else.

Rosalie nodded excitedly, and rushed off to the sidelines. Already, all of the students were clearing out so that the soccer field could be used for a battlefield. Avery and Ellie made their way to either end of the field.

Clearing her throat, Rosalie spoke up so that all could hear. "Okay, just to clarify: the rules are simple. Each competitor may use one Pokémon and one Pokémon only!" she exclaimed. "There may be no substitution, and for the sake of simplicity, no Clause Variants are in place! The first person to knock out the competitor's Pokémon is the winner! Are both competitors ready?"

"As I'll ever be," grumbled Ellie, Pokèball in hand.

"Bring it!" declared Avery.

"Begin!" shouted Rosalie, waving her arm.

"Espeon, I choose you!" shouted Ellie, throwing her Pokèball. Onto the field came a sleek, pink-furred quadruped. Her eyes were of a radiant purple and white, and a scarlet gem adorned the center of her forehead.

"Sora, let's go!" cried Avery. His Skarmory let out a territorial caw before slamming onto the ground, three hundred pounds in all.

Ellie cringed. This would be a tough matchup; not only were none of Espeon's moves of great consequence to a Steel-Type, but it was possible for Sora to know moves such as Night Slash and X-Scissor that could mean a decisive victory.

To win, Ellie would have to strike fast and strike strong. And do that, she would.

"Espeon, Iron Tail!" Ellie ordered. Espeon's wavy tail immediately straightened up and gleamed with a silvery hue. Staying low to the ground, the Sun Pokémon took off for her target.

Avery saw this simple as a challenge to meet. "Sora, use Steel Wing!" A similar process occurred with Sora's wing, which hardened into a sharp, deadly edge as the Skarmory took off.

Being a predator of the sky had its advantages at times. But not when fighting something so adept to the ground as Espeon. Sticking to her plan of staying low, Espeon slunk right under Sora, slamming her iron tail into the Armor Bird's sensitive neck.

"AARRRA!" cried Sora, his blade-like wings dicing the air to take off and get out of Espeon's reach.

"Oh, no you don't! Espeon, use Psycho Cut!" Ellie commanded.

Espeon's tail now curled once more and glowed violet. Swishing it back and forth, psychic emerged pooled into kinetic energy and formed glowing pink crescents of light. Espeon sent six of these express to her foe.

"Sora, use Air Cutter!" shouted Avery, so that his high-up Pokémon could hear, "Knock the Psycho Cuts right out of the air!"

"ARAR!" Flapping them as supersonic speeds, Sora's wings began to let off a whine akin to a blender, while slashing up a knife-like current of wind. The counterattack cut right through Espeon's psychic energy, rendering it innefective.

This was going to be a battle to remember. And a tough one to win.

…

The students observing on the bleachers were completely dumbfounded. Most of them had a decent amount of Trainers' experience under their belt, but even so, just watching these seasoned veterans go at it was simply astounding. The skill of the Pokémon and their link with their Trainer was definitely something to be strived for.

A gentle breeze piggybacked off of Sora's attack and tickled the onlookers, including Volan and Liara, who had decided against staying cooped up inside to do their homework and had come to get some air. (To be fair, Liara had been fine with inside. Inside was good. Liara liked inside).

Even though it was relatively cloudy, Liara still wore a sunhat to keep herself and her work in the shade. Volan had finished his own work not too long ago and was now just keeping his girlfriend company as she finished her advanced assignments.

And not that Volan mined, but Liara seemed to get a bit cold and robotic when she was working, becoming more machine that the laptop atop her knees. But work was work, and, well…Liara was Liara.

Liara reached over and placed her pen atop the notebook to her side, returning briefly to her laptop. However, nature confiscated her writing utensil with a push of the wind, knocking it off of the bench.

"Volan, I have dropped my pen," Liara declared in monotone, not looking up from her computer, "Retrieve it for me."

Volan sighed. "Alright…Bernice?"

"Queeel!" chirped the Tranquil on his shoulder, flapping her wings to descend off of her Trainer and down to the ground. She snatched up the ballpoint pen in her talons and returned to Volan, depositing it in his palm.

"Thank you, loved one," said Liara, taking the pen once Volan offered it. The bespectacled boy smiled faintly, but quit once he realized Liara wasn't looking at him anyway.

As previously stated, Volan didn't hold Liara's worktime reclusion against her, but her shows of affection when in this state were not only few and far apart, but…kinda weird.

Liara shivered. "Volan, I am cold. You may fetch me a blanket, offer me your jacket in a cliché yet gentlemanly fashion, and/or throw your arms around me affectionately and enshroud me in the warmth of our love."

See?

…

If this were a Contest, the granules of sparkling energy descending from the sky after the destruction of Espeon's attack would've awarded Ellie some handsome points. But this wasn't a Contest, and Ellie wasn't looking for points. She was looking for a decisive victory.

"Sora, Brave Bird!" ordered Avery. Sora's wings flattened to his body as he dive bombed Espeon, flames bursting around him.

Ellie's eyes shot open wide. Now was her chance! Tactical strikes comprised of not-very-effective moves wouldn't get her anywhere in this battle. If anything, Espeon would tire herself out before Sora went down. Now was the time for a crushing and decisive blow.

"Espeon, bring Sora to the ground with Psychic!" demanded Ellie, sweat forming on her brow.

Espeon nodded and spread her four legs. A mystic hue surrounded her body as her eyes glowed bright violet. Squinting her eyes, Espeon focused on the metallic body hurtling towards her with terminal intent. With a flip of her head, Espeon sent the entirety of the accumulated telekinetic energy crashing down on Sore like a psychic waterfall.

Sora found himself ripped suddenly and violently from his attack formation, like the hand of Arceus itself had grabbed him and flung him to the ground like a toy. The three hundred pound Pokémon belly flopped into the battlefield, kicking up a tall mushroom cloud of dust.

The collective breaths of the onlookers were taken away; they had not anticipated such a bold stroke to sweep the battle in a whole other direction. This truly was an entertaining bout.

Rosalie rushed onto the field, stopping roughly where Sora had landed. Adjusting her glasses, she leaned over and waited for the dust to better clear. She straightened up and faced the audience.

"We have a winner!" She gestured to the battlefield, where the dust was finally clearing. There, in a small crater lie Sora, twitching but otherwise unmoving. "Sora is unable to battle! Ms…I mean, _Coach _Morris wins!"

A cheer rose up from the audience, along with the clapping of hands and the stomping of feet on the bleachers. Contrary to popular belief, it seemed that the teachers _weren't _too old to partake in a good battle.

Of course, Couch Morris wouldn't be let in on that little theory…

"You did a good job, buddy," whisper Avery, returning Sora to her Pokèball. Yes, he was upset, but he still got to be a coach on the soccer team, alongside a good friend who rightfully earned a spot ahead of him.

Said friend and co-worker was already halfway across the field. She was smiling, accompanied by Espeon. The two shook hands.

"That was a good move, using Psychic in addition with the recoil damage of Brave Bird," aditted Avery, being the good sport.

"Thanks," said Ellie, "To be honest, I lost a little hope towards the beginning once I saw the matchup."

Avery winked. "But you didn't. I wouldn't expect any less from ya, Ellie. After all, giving up doesn't win you the Hoenn League, now does it?"

"No, it doesn't. Which reminds me…" Ellie turned and began walking the other way. Now came the perks of the job. "As _Assistant _Coach, your duties so far will be to polish my trophy, take inventory on all of our equipment, fix the goal netting…"

She kicked a rock into the hole that their battle had made. "Oh, yeah! And also, fill this hole that you made back up! Wouldn't want someone to get hurt in there."

"Someone _will _get hurt if we keep running our mouth, Ellie," mumbled Avery indignantly, shoulders slouched.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! I'll get right on it~!"

* * *

**There we go, folks! Soccer (or football, if you call it by the ****_correct_**** term) season has begun, and Ellie has won her spot as head coach! I've been wanting to give the teachers some more love, so of course I've introduced Grump last time, and now we've gotten to see a little more of Ellie and Avery. I still have one teacher to introduce, however. It'll probably be soon.**

**Also, if you haven't seen your/any OC for a while, don't worry! I take note of who has and hasn't been on screen...text, whatever, for a while. I pretty much literally have a list of people whom I wish to showcase a little more. Everyone gets time in the spotlight! So please don't pester me about when an OC will show! Questions are always welcome and appreciated, just don't be excessive, please!**

**And one quick thing I wanna establish before I cut this Author's Note off: eventually, in order to cycle through OCs, we may have some faces leaving the Academy. Now hold your Horseas! Let me explain.**

**What I mean is that some characters may have to say goodbye for a while in order to ease the burden. No one will die (at least not yet) and if someone leaves, they will make an appearance again, I swear! Logically, people besides those graduating at the end of every year will have to go every once in a while. I just want to establish that now: no one is leaving any time soon, and I just ask that if you own an OC that does leave, please be a good sport about it! I love every single OC I've gotten, and I'm not getting rid of any specific ones. **

**I hope that wasn't a somber note, but I had to get it out of the way. On that, please review!**

**151 as of this chapter getting posted! IDK that's always just been a little milestone for my Pokemon stories, for obvious reasons. Let's see how many we can get by the end of the story! **

**Cya next class! Thanks!**


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